


A Dummie's Guide to the Apocalypse

by ScrollingKingfisher



Series: A Dummie's Guide to the Apocalypse [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Dean, Angel Sam, Apocalypse, Blood Drinking, Hunter Castiel, Hunter Gabriel, Like really slow, M/M, Slow Burn, Soul Bond, Supernatural Reverseverse, Temporary Character Death, Trickster Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-07-19 17:06:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 97,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7370344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScrollingKingfisher/pseuds/ScrollingKingfisher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Castiel went to hell, before angels and demons and the apocalypse, Gabriel met the Trickster. If he thought back, that was probably where the insanity really started.</p><p>In which some things change, some things stay the same, but the story is still about a pair of brothers, and how they saved the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tall Tail

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of the 2016 Gabriel Big Bang! I have never enjoyed writing so much so much so fast, and it was worth it to get to know all the cool people in this community a little better.
> 
> Many thanks go to the wonderful Kuwlshadow for the art, your talents are legendary! They're over here; http://kuwlshadow.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thanks also go to gabrieltrickster, who was willing to beta this monstrosity.
> 
>  
> 
> .

[link to art](http://kuwlshadow.tumblr.com/image/146831064643) 

 

 

 

   Castiel looked up from his laptop across the gloom of the motel room, thinly veiled murder in his eyes.

 

   “Gabriel,” he gritted, his voice growing even deeper than usual with irritation, “Would you mind not eating those on my bed?”

 

   Gabriel grinned from where he was sprawled across the covers (brown and green checked? Really? Who designed this colour scheme) and lifted the sticky-sweet gummy worms of deliciousness up to his mouth. He dropped them in, making sure to smack his lips obnoxiously. “Sorry bro, not really.” He sucked the sugar off his thumb.

 

   Cas’ fingers clenched tighter on the books, his knuckles going white with self-restraint. Gabriel ignored him.

 

   “How’s the research going, honey bunch?”

 

   “Slow.” Cas growled, slamming the book shut and glaring over at him. “Do you know how it would go faster, Gabriel? If I had my laptop!”

 

   Gabriel hummed noncommittally, gracing Cas with a vacant smile designed specifically to infuriate him. Castiel tried valiantly to ignore it and turned back to his notes. He barely managed to stay focused for a moment before turning around again.

 

   “Would you turn that music down?”

 

   “Oh yeah, sure,” Gabriel leaned over and turned up the dial, making sure to maintain eye contact with his brother across the room as the song blared louder and louder from the speakers. Cas’ eyes narrowed, the muscles in his jaw ticking, and Gabriel grinned tightly in anticipation of the impending fight.

 

   “You know what? Maybe you should get out of here for a while. Just go to the bar or something.”

 

   Gabriel snapped his fingers. “That is a great idea. Really. Unfortunately, _somebody_ has been screwing with the car!”

 

   Castiel bristled, and maybe reminding him of the damage to his precious continental hadn’t been the best idea. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have messed with it then! _I_ wouldn’t damage my own car!”

 

   Gabriel instantly snapped a response. “Hey! I had nothing to do with-”

 

   Their argument was cut off by a sharp rap at the door. Castiel eagerly abandoned his books to open it.

 

   “Hello Josh. Thank god you’re here.”

 

   “Hey, Josh!”

 

   Joshua bustled into the room, looking them over with sharp eyes. “Hi boys. Good to see you again so soon.”

 

   Gabriel slid off the bed to greet the older man. “Yeah, thanks for coming to help us out, ‘cos I gotta tell yah, we have no idea what we’re dealing with.”

 

   Joshua settled himself on one of the rickety motel chairs. “So, what didn’t you want to talk to me on the phone about? Because there’s a ghoul on the east coast needs dealing with, I’ve given it to Balth for the time being, but it would be appreciated if we could get this wrapped up.”

 

   Cas shifted sheepishly. “Sorry for calling you all the way out here, but we weren’t sure if you’d believe us.”

 

   Joshua’s dark eyes locked onto Castiel’s. “Trust me, I think that there’s very little I won’t believe at this point.”

 

   “Well, no, we know that,” Cas conceded.

 

   “It’s just that we’ve never seen anything like this before. Not even close to this flavour of crazy. Thought a fresh pair of eyes might be useful, that’s all.” Gabriel put in, and Cas nodded.

 

   “Well, why don’t you begin at the beginning, then?”

 

   “Okay, well,” Cas started as they sat down, “It began when we heard that a man, a local professor, had committed suicide. Only there was also a local legend that the building is haunted. So, just like usual, we started to do some digging, went to a bar and met some reporters from the local paper…”

 

 

_The bar was hot and the atmosphere unpleasantly stuffy, and the entire place smelt of stale body odour, but Castiel was willing to put up with it as long as the beer was good and the frat boy in front of him gave him the local gossip. Gabriel was usually better at the interviews, putting it down to his ‘natural charisma’ and Castiel’s lack of ‘people skills’, but he had nearly run to the bar as soon as they had walked in like a man dying of thirst to an oasis, and leaving all the hard work for Castiel, as usual. Because he was the only responsible sibling._

_“So we both had the professor for ethics and morality.” By the slight swaying and the uncoordinated way that the boy was gesturing with his drink, Castiel would bet that wasn’t his first pint, which was perfect for him. Chatty drunks were the easiest to get information out of._

_“Why do you think he did it?”_

_The blonde girl on his other side leaned forwards animatedly. “Who knows? He was tenured, wife and kids, his book was like a really big deal around here. Then again, who’s to say it was suicide?” She gave him what was probably meant to be a darkly significant look. Castiel pretended to look intrigued._

_The frat boy scoffed. “Jen, come on.”_

_“Well, what else could it be?” She turned to Cas. “You know about Crawford Hall, right?”_

_“No, actually, I don’t believe I’ve heard that story.”_

_“It’s a bunch of crap, that’s what it is.”_

_“Shut up!” the girl protested, slapping the boy on the arm. “And anyway, it’s not a story, it’s real. Like thirty years ago, some girl was having an affair with this professor. He broke it off, she jumped out the window and killed herself. They say she jumped from room 669. Get it? You turn the nine upside down?” She related the story with an almost inappropriate amount of relish, raising her eyebrow to ensure that he had picked up on the obvious reference at the end._

_Cas nodded seriously._

_“So now she haunts the building. And anyone who sees her? They don’t live to tell the tale.”_

_The boy smirked from where he was slouched low in his seat. “So if no one lives to tell the tale, how does the tale get told?”_

_“Curtis! Shut up!”_

_Castiel stood before the conversation could dissolve into bickering. “Thank you both very much, that was extremely useful. I’ll be sure to mention your names in the article, if you’d like. Please excuse me, I need to find my partner.”_

_He left the girl scowling at the boy and made his way over to the bar, hoping that he could update his brother on the situation before he became too inebriated._

_But it looked as though he was too late. By the time he found Gabriel he was downing some suspicious looking shots while bellowing along to the music pounding over the speakers._

_“Gabriel. What in god’s name are you drinking?”_

_Gabriel turned and grinned up at him, weaving slightly where he stood, holding in a small belch._

_“I dunno actually, I think they’re called purple nurples. Here, you should give it a try!”_

_“No.”_

_Gabriel pouted. “Aww, why not? What about having some fun for once, Cassie? Take a weight off, loosen your corset straps a little.”_

_Castiel gave a long-suffering sigh. “No thank you. Anyway, I think that maybe we should go and investigate the professor’s office-”_

_“No no no!” Gabe shook his head wildly, glancing around. “You can’t do that! I’ve got a feisty little wildcat on the hook, she’s a real fiery girl, I’m just about to-” he made a zipping noise, “Reel her in. Here, I’ll introduce her!”_

_“Wait, Gabe, no-” but it was too late. Gabriel was already turning around, dragging an obviously equally inebriated girl with him as though he had plucked her from mid-air._

_“This is Scarlet. Hey, Scarlet, this is my shuttle co-pilot, Major Tom. Major Tom, Scarlet. Don’t mind him, he’s a little shy.”_

_Scarlet looped a clumsy arm around Gabriel’s shoulders to prop herself up as she wobbled on her heels, grinning up at him inanely, her hair framing her face in lank, greasy strands. There was a dark stain down the front of her revealing outfit where she must have spilled a drink at some point._

_“Enchante!” she cheered him with another murky looking shot in what was possibly the worst French accent that he had ever heard._

 

_Castiel tried to turn the corners of his mouth into a thin smile, but his face just wouldn’t quite hold the expression when he wanted to roll his eyes at his brother so badly. “Hello,” he managed tightly._

_His opinion of Scarlet wasn’t improved when she belched and staggered back, gagging unattractively before she recovered. “Just tryin’ to keep my liquor down!” she giggled cheerfully at him. Gabriel grinned encouragingly at her before turning back to Castiel with a conspiratorial expression._

_“So, good news bro, turns out she’s a triplet with two sisters! Two for me and one for you!” He stage whispered._

_Out of the dense crowd two more giggling women appeared as if summoned. They tottered towards them, handbags swinging, and one of them placed a sticky, drunken kiss on Gabriel’s cheek._

_Castiel was, frankly, appalled by this latest development. The fact that there was more than one Scarlet in this bar seemed like more horror than he was qualified to deal with as a hunter. Scarlet number one grinned at him, once more draped over Gabriel’s shoulder while number two dangled off his elbow, and Gabriel gave him a thumbs up as he dragged the third giggling woman over to-_

   “What?! That’s not how it happened!” Gabriel didn’t know whether to be outraged at the lies and exaggeration or envious of his little brother’s powers of imagination, because a good half of that had been bullshit. Obviously.

 

   “No? So you never drank a ‘purple nurple’?” Cas challenged, enclosing his scepticism with sarcastic finger brackets.

 

   “Okay, so maybe I had a few shots. But calling someone a ‘feisty little wildcat’?” he returned the finger brackets, “Not really my style. Never mind that shit you obviously made up about there being three of them. Not that I couldn’t handle that, of course. And besides, Scarlet was a classy chick. She was doing Folklore and mythology, and we were just getting into the local legends…”

 

 

_The immaculately dressed vision of female beauty in front of him raised her glass to his and they toasted each other’s health._

_“Here’s to us,” She said, her lashes fluttering alluringly over her eyes as she blinked lasciviously at him, obviously overcome with attraction._

_“To us, gorgeous,” Gabriel agreed, and they delicately tipped back their shot glasses in one smooth motion._

_After they had swallowed she looked him up and down appreciatively, her eyes lingering. “My god, you are_ so _attractive.”_

_Gabriel slipped an arm around her waist. “Thank you, my love, but no time for that now. My beauty, you need to tell me everything about this urban legend. Please, lives are at stake.” He continued gravely._

_“I’m sorry. It’s just… I can’t seem to concentrate,” she stared at him raptly, “Your eyes are so golden. It’s like… staring into the sun…”_

_Their mouths met in a passionate kiss that burnt with the light of a thousand stars. They were elegant, intertwined, fated, even. The universe held its breath for their kiss._

_Then from behind him, he heard the siren call of the great cock-blocker himself._

_“Gabriel, what do you think you’re doing?” Cas’ deep voice cut through the romantic atmosphere like grating, bitchy cheese wire._

_Gabriel allowed his lips to linger for a second longer on his lovers’ before he had to pull himself away to deal with the unwelcome intruder._

_“Cassie, please. Can’t you see that me and this lovely lady are rather busy at the moment? Could you please give us five minutes?” Why couldn’t his little brother go anywhere without that hideous stalker coat? He was in a bar, for fuck’s sake, not lurking in an alley outside some poor girl’s bedroom window._

_Cas pursed his lips in a typical prissy expression. “Gabriel, this is a very serious investigation. We don’t have time for any of your blah blabla blah.” Cas’ voice droned into the background as Gabriel turned back to his one true love._

_“Blah bla. Blabla blahbla blabla. BLAH!”_

   “Right, so that’s how it really happened, is it? I don’t sound like that, Gabriel! And what’s wrong with my coat?” Cas was losing his cool again, eyes narrowing, hands subconsciously clutching at the garment like it might get offended by hurtful words.

 

   “Cassie, you always sound like that to me! And if you’re asking about the coat, I have a list.”

 

   “Okay, what the hell is going on with you two?” Joshua butted in before they could goad each other further.

 

   Cas shook his head and sent Gabriel a dark look. “Nothing, Josh. It’s nothing.”

 

   Joshua narrowed his eyes at them disbelievingly. “Yeah? ‘Cos you two are bickering like an old married couple.”

 

   Gabriel got up from the edge of the bed that he had been sitting on. “Oh no. It’s much worse than that. See, married couples can get divorced. Me and him, we’re like Siamese twins.”

 

   “It’s conjoined twins!”

 

   “Whatever.”

 

   Gabriel headed for the kitchenette, leaving Cas to do the talking, because he didn’t know how much more of that conversation he could stand before he was going to try to kill his little brother. From behind him, he heard Cas continue talking as he opened the mini fridge, his voice tight and irritated.

 

   “Seriously, it’s fine. Tight quarters, that’s all. Gabriel and I have been on the road for too long.”

 

   Gabriel came back to sit with them, feeling more amicable with a beer in hand, unable to resist telling a good story. “So, we thought that this thing was probably some old girl’s ghost, so we went to scope out the scene of the crime…”

 

 

_It was evening by the time they got around to visiting Crawford Hall. Gabriel whistled as they stood in front of the imposing stone arch of the front doors and looked up at the ornate stained glass window on the second floor._

_“Wow. Nice place. No wonder it’s haunted. If I died here, I wouldn’t mind squatting for all eternity either.”_

_They were met in the hallway by the janitor. At first Gabriel thought, by the hulking silhouette, that someone had found a line-backer to show them around, but a second glance showed that the man was wearing dull work overalls. Damn, what Gabriel would give to peel those off, see if the rest of him was as buff as the muscled forearms that were showcased by his rolled-up sleeves. He’d always had a thing for big guys._

_The man must have felt the eyes on him because he looked up from where he had been reading the paper and shot them a dimpled grin as he straightened to his full gigantic height. Woah._

_“Hi. You guys must be the electricians.”_

_Gabriel beamed at him, holding out his hand. “That’s us! I’m Mike, this is Brad.”_

_“Call me Sam,” the giant said, slightly slanted eyes twinkling out at him from under a mop of messy brown hair as he engulfed Gabriel’s hand in a warm, firm handshake. Oh yeah, he was screwed. Hopefully literally._

_Sam shook Cas’ hand as well, and he was probably imagining that the handshake was slightly less enthusiastic than his own, but then again Cas was doing his stiff and awkward ‘I might be an alien in human form’ impression that he did whenever he met new people, so he couldn’t really blame Sam for being a little put off. It looked like it was up to him and his sparkling conversation skills to save the day._

_“So, Sam, how long have you been working here?” Smooth, Gabe, smooth._

_Sam chuckled as he led them down the corridor. “I’ve been mopping these floors for six years. If I ever escape, I might need therapy to integrate back into society.”_

_“Six years, kiddo? You’ve gotta be only, what, twenty five?”_

_Cas threw him a frown telling him not to insult the possible lead’s life decisions, but Sam just laughed again. “I’m actually older than I look. Here you go, guys.” He let them into a spacious office and Gabriel reluctantly pulled the EMF meter from his pocket. They did still have work to do after all._

_“What do you use that thing for?” Sam asked him, leaning casually against the desk with his hands in his pockets._

_“Oh, this gizmo? Just to find the wires in the walls. Makes me feel like Indiana Jones looking for treasure,” He ran the device over the plaster as he talked, but the whine and the blinking lights that he was expecting never came. Odd._

_Sam leaned back. “I’m not sure why you’re wiring up this office. It won’t do the professor much good.”_

_Cas got in before he could. “And why is that?”_

_“Because he’s dead,” Sam said bluntly. Gabriel and Cas made the appropriate noises of surprise._

_“How did it happen?” Cas asked._

_“He went out of the window,” Sam gestured with his thumb behind himself, his eyes still on Gabriel, and hello, was that interest he saw there?_

_“Were you working that night?”_

_Sam nodded. “I’m the one who found him.”_

_“So didja see it happen?” They were leaning towards one another now, and yes, that was a definite spark. He was in._

_“No. But I saw him come up here beforehand and well…”_

_“What?” At this point he wasn’t really sure if he was questioning or flirting any more. Whatever, he could multitask._

_Sam looked at him sideways through his lashes. “He wasn’t alone.”_

_Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cas, who had been sniffing along the books, lick a broad swipe across the shelf._

_“Hmm. The flavour of this dust indicates that you are correct. I can detect that it was a young girl, a-”_

   “Gabriel! Don’t be ridiculous, I never licked the shelf!”

 

   “Yeah well, you said that you could smell her perfume, same level of creepy! Just embellishing the story, bro, untwist you knickers.”

 

   Josh gave them both an irritated look, then his eyes narrowed searchingly as he glanced between them. He gestured for Gabriel to continue.

 

 

_Sam nodded. “Yeah, actually, it was a young lady. I told the police about her, but I guess they didn’t find her.”_

_Cas was in interrogation mode now. “Did you see the girl come out?”_

_Sam tilted his head to the side endearingly, his forehead wrinkling in thought. “No, actually, no I didn’t.”_

_“So did you recognise her? See her around before?”_

_“Not her. But… he brought a lot of girls up here.”_

_Gabriel grinned at him. “Not exactly Mr. Morality, then?”_

_“Not really, no. I almost told the administration a few times.”_

_“What? A guy can’t have a little fun?” He winked suggestively over at Sam, who gave him a small grin back, a slight flush on the top of his cheekbones._

_“You’re right, nothing wrong with a little fun. But half of the girls I saw him lead in here? Barely legal. And those were only the ones I saw.” Something dark flashed behind Sam’s eyes for half a second before it was gone again._

_Gabriel felt his expression drop into a grimace. Yeah, that wasn’t good. Maybe the spirit did them a favour and the guy got what was coming to him._

_Cas walked over to them. “Just one more thing. This building only has four stories, doesn’t it?” Sam nodded. “So there is no room 669?”_

_The corner of Sam’s mouth turned up in a smirk and Gabriel had to restrain his laughter. Someone had to ask, but coming out in Cas’ most serious voice the stupid question just sounded hilarious._

_“No, ‘course not.” Sam replied. Castiel nodded, his face like stone (he really was clueless) and asked Sam to lead them back out._

_Sam gave them a wave as they reached the doors. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”_

_“Maybe, kiddo.” Gabriel threw Sam his most flirtatious wink over his shoulder, and could almost feel a pair of eyes glued to his ass as he walked back towards the continental._

   “Boy, we don’t need your commentary every time you try to score.”

 

   “Come on, Josh, I’m just telling it like it was!”

 

   “Yeah, well, we want to finish this before I die of old age. Castiel, finish the story, kid.”

 

 

   _They got back to their motel room early, but for once Castiel wasn’t pleased. He had been hoping that visiting the office might take a little longer so that he wouldn’t have to spend any more time looking at the… unfortunate wallpaper in their room than necessary. He shrugged out of the electrician’s jacket gratefully, though._

_“So there were no traces of EMF in the room.”_

_Gabriel sauntered in after him. “Yeah, so not a spirit. That thing about the girl sounded like it might be something. You gonna check out the history of the building?”_

_Castiel nodded and pulled out his laptop while Gabriel investigated whether there were any beers left in the grimy mini fridge. He flipped up the lid and frowned when he saw the colourful images frozen on the screen._

_“Gabriel, have you been messing around on my computer again?” he growled. Gabriel turned around, chewing on something with his mouth open._

_“No, why?”_

_Blatant lies. “Well, if you haven’t been on it, then why is it frozen on a site called ‘Busty Asian Beauties dot com?”_

_Gabriel winked at him as he wandered towards the bedroom. “If you have to ask why I was on that site, little bro, then you’re not using the internet right.”_

_Cas rolled his eyes in disgust and gritted his teeth. “Gabriel!” he snapped, then rubbed his forehead, trying to massage away the budding headache and to avoid retaliating. “Whatever. Just don’t touch my stuff anymore.”_

_Gabriel poked his head back around the door frame. “Maybe you should control your OCD!”_

_That was it. Castiel was going to kill his brother._

   “So it wasn’t a haunting?” Joshua interrupted again.

 

   Gabriel put his booted feet up on one of the chairs. “You know what, Josh, we don’t even know any more. This is where it gets really weird. We didn’t see it ourselves, exactly, but…” 

_It had surprised both of them to see the frat boy back in the bar that night, and this time he looked decidedly worse for wear. Gone was the smug little smirk and the arrogant, confident posture. His jacket was rumpled, and there was the haunted look in his eyes of someone who had recently been traumatised for life. Gabriel had been slightly disappointed that Sam the janitor wasn’t there, but he was sat next to his little brother rather than drowning his sorrows at the bar, because he wouldn’t have missed this story for the world._

_God, this shouldn’t be so entertaining._

_“They… probed you?” Even Cas was having a hard time keeping the incredulity off his face._

_“Yeah. They probed me, and probed me, and probed me again… and then one more time.” The kid muttered, taking a fortifying gulp of his drink._

_“You might want to give the purple nurples a shot,” Gabriel suggested._

_The boy gave him a dark look. “That wasn’t even the worst of it,” he protested, and Gabriel raised a challenging eyebrow at him._

_“And what was worse than an alien sticking it where the sun don’t shine?”_

_The boy shuddered and looked down in shame. “They made me… slow dance.”_

_That was it, he was done. Gabriel had to turn away so that the frat boy wouldn’t see the smile on his face or his shoulders shaking with laughter. When he turned back, Cas was somehow still wearing his poker face. That level of self-control wasn’t natural. If there were aliens on earth, they were probably wearing the form of his brother._

 

   “So, The frat boy was nuts? Too many special brownies?”

 

   Gabriel swallowed another mouthful of beer. “Yeah, we’re not so sure. We went to check out the place where it happened, giant crop circle right in the middle of the lawn. Looked like it was made by some kind of jet engine, Cassie reckons. And two bouts of freaky shit happening in the same town, one after the other? There has to be a connection. No idea what it is, but.”

 

   Cas picked up the discussion. “We also talked to another boy, who didn’t have any more information on the possible alien abduction, but he did have a… less than positive opinion on the frat boy, Curtis. He said that whatever had happened, he must have deserved it. Apparently, he has a love for playing pranks on others.” Cas shot Gabriel a glare as he said that.

 

   Gabriel ignored him. “Anyway…”

 

  

   _“So it looks like there is a connection between the frat guy and the professor.” Gabriel tipped his rickety motel chair back onto two legs._

_Cas shot him a questioning glance. “What?”_

_“Well, they were both dicks.”_

_“That’s not a connection,” Cas snorted as he pulled the library books out of the duffel. He rooted to the bottom then frowned. “Have you seen my laptop?”_

_“Nope.” Gabriel leant back further. “I mean, think about it. The asshole who sleeps with undergrads gets a dead girl. The pledge master gets hazed. Really well hazed too, I gotta say. These punishments are almost, I don’t know, poetic. Especially the one with the alien. That one’s a masterpiece.” Hey, it might be killing people, but he couldn’t fault this monster on its sense of humour._

_Castiel walked in front of him, now looking distinctly pissed. “This is not funny, Gabriel. Where did you hide it?”_

_“What?”_

_“My laptop! Where is it?”_

_“Why the hell do you think I would want to take your laptop?”_

_“Because no one else could have! We never let the maids in, the door was locked, and it was still locked when we got back!” Cas’ fists were clenched at his sides._

_“Looks like you lost it.”_

_Castiel visibly restrained his wrath._

_“Gabriel, I put up with a lot from you,” He growled, “leaving your filthy clothing everywhere, your food in the fridge-”_

_“What’s wrong with my food?”_

_“It’s not food any more, Gabriel! It’s Darwinism!” Well, yeah, maybe he did have a point about that pizza that had been in there since last week, but still. Low blow._

_“The one thing that I ask is that you don’t mess with my stuff. How would you feel if I messed around with your jacket? The one dad gave you?”_

_Gabriel’s eyes darkened dangerously. “You wouldn’t dare, because it would be the last thing you ever did.”_

   “So did you take his computer?” Joshua had a stern I-don’t-have-time-for-this-shit look on his face as though he was dealing with five year olds rather than fully grown hunters.

 

   “No, would have served him right, but I never touched the thing.”

 

   Cas scoffed at him. “Well, I didn’t lose it. It hasn’t been out of this room since we got here and no one’s been in, we turned this place upside down. Or I did, anyway.” He shot Gabriel another dark look, which he ignored.

 

   “Right. So what happened next?”

 

   Cas sighed. “There was one more victim. We didn’t see that one ourselves either, but we saw the… aftermath.”

 

   Gabriel put down his empty beer bottle, which he had been spinning between his hands. “Yeah. He was a research scientist, in animal testing. And, according to his colleagues, also an enormous bag of dicks, which fits the pattern. We went to check out the morgue. There wasn’t much left by the time the gator was done with him.”

 

   Joshua did a double take. “What? A gator?”

 

   Gabriel pulled a lollipop from his pocket and started peeling off the wrapper. “Yup. Found… what was it? A belly scale? In with the remains. Looks like that old urban legend, you know, the one about reptiles in the sewers. That was when we decided to call you, thought you might have a clue about what’s happening around here.”

 

   Cas sighed, the story evidently not yet over. “And that was when the last thing happened.”

 

 

_Castiel couldn’t believe his eyes. Horrified, he took a step closer, but he was right. The tires had been slashed! All of them!_

_He indulged in some of Gabriel’s favourite profanities as he inspected the damage, simmering with anger. Whoever had done this, they were going to pay. Big time. He patted the continental consolingly on the bonnet. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll get them for you.”_

_That was when he saw it._

_Just next to the front tire, two colourful, crinkly wrappers fluttered slightly as he picked them up then crushed them in his fist. Oh, Gabriel was in for it now._

_………_

_Gabriel didn’t even look up as he stormed in._

_“Oh hey bro, I was wondering-”_

_“Do you think this is funny?” Gabriel looked up in surprise at his fuming tone, then noticed the look on Cas’ face._

_“What?” He sounded almost genuinely confused, but Gabriel was a master at lying._

_“The car, obviously!”_

_“What about the car? I didn’t do anything!”_

_“Oh yeah? Well the tires didn’t deflate_ themselves _! What about these?” He brandished the wrappers under Gabriel’s nose._

_“Those are just candy wrappers! Anyone could have eaten them!”_

_Cas pointed accusingly a the large pile of wrappers on the bedside table, exactly the same as the ones clenched in his fist. “Coincidence? I think not.” He snatched Gabriel’s balled up jacket from the table. “Let’s see how you like it.”_

_Gabriel jumped up. “Give that back!” He reached out to snatch it, but Castiel held it up out of his reach. Gabriel stopped, then feinted to the left, then made another grab, but Cas lifted it higher still, glad to be the taller sibling._

_Above his head, he felt the jacket snag on something. He looked up, and saw that the lining had somehow become stuck on the top of the door. As he looked away, Gabriel yanked on his elbow to bring the jacket back within his reach. There was a small ripping noise._

_In the moment of still silence that followed, Castiel contemplated that it might not be monsters that sent him to an early grave after all._

_With an enraged yell, Gabriel leapt at him. They toppled backwards onto the bed, grappling with each other for possession of the coat-_

   “Okay, I’ve heard enough.”

 

   “But he ripped my jacket,” Gabriel whined sulkily.

 

   Joshua scowled at both of them. “I’m shocked at you two. Were you both born this stupid, or have you been taking lessons? Cas, Gabriel didn’t mess with your car. And he never stole your laptop.”

 

   “But-”

 

   “Shh.” Joshua cut Cas off with a raised hand. “And Gabriel, it wasn’t your brother’s fault that your coat got ripped. If you two bothered to open your eyes and remove your heads from your asses, it would have been pretty obvious what’s going on.”

 

   Cas shrugged, looking confused. He glanced at Gabriel, who shrugged back. “Nope. Not a clue.”

 

   Joshua gave a long suffering sigh. “You boys have got a trickster on your hands. You two were the biggest clue. Those things create chaos and mischief as easy as anything, and it’s got you two so wound up and at each other’s throats that you can’t even think straight. It knows you’re here, and that you’re onto it, and it’s been playing the two of you like fiddles.”

 

   “So what exactly is it? Some kind of spirit?” Cas frowned, thinking.

 

   “More like a demigod. They’re immortal, create things out of thin air.”

 

   Gabriel nodded, fitting the facts together. “Things like angry spirits, and aliens, and alligators in the sewer?”

 

   “Exactly. The victims fit the pattern too. Tricksters tend to target the high and mighty, anybody getting too big for their boots, take them down a peg or two. Usually with a sense of humour.”

 

   Cas narrowed his eyes, thinking. “What do they look like, these things?”

 

   Joshua shrugged. “Whatever they want. Mostly they appear as humans.” 

 

   Cas turned to Gabriel. “And what human do we know who’s been at ground zero this whole time?”

 

   Gabriel was confused for a second, then his eyes widened in realisation. “No fucking way.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Sam sighed as he thumbed half-heartedly through the pages of the trashy magazines, looking for inspiration. The alien one had been good, he would give them that. Quite inventive, humans.

 

   But what was he going to do about the vessels? He hadn’t been looking for them, hadn’t even realised that they were on earth yet, and it had been a shock when he saw them pulling into town. He had known that their souls would be bright, they would have to be to contain an archangel, but he hadn’t anticipated the intensity of the glare that came off the younger one. He burnt like magnesium and fiery determination, like Michael, and it was almost enough to make him homesick like he hadn’t been for thousands of years.

 

   The older one, though. Gabriel. He burnt brightly too, but his soul-light was warmer, the kind of warmth that could either comfort or burn you alive. He was magma, fast and slow, changeable, just as likely to destroy a village as to create an island. Sam had only very rarely seen another soul like it and it was fascinating to watch. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off it when the brothers had come to investigate the professor. His soul did resemble what he remembered of Lucifer, or as he had been, anyway, but not as strongly as Castiel was a reflection of Michael’s Grace. If anything, Gabriel’s soul resembled his _own_ Grace more than it resembled Lucifer’s.

 

   He drummed his fingers and pursed his lips, considering. He could just… leave. But no. If he tried to just go then they would come after him, they were stubborn like that. But at the same time he couldn’t intervene; that would blow his cover, and he had no desire to see any of his siblings again. Except for one of them, and there was no guarantee that they would be pleased to see _him._

 

   Sam gritted his teeth in annoyance. This wasn’t supposed to happen, the vessels were just that; The Vessels. They weren’t meant to be fascinating and likeable and funny…

 

   Bones, sensing his mood, whined and wandered over, thrusting his nose under Sam’s hand. Sam scratched him behind his shaggy ears as he continued to internally debate the problem.

 

   Eventually, he made his mind up. He would wait for them to come to him. And hopefully, the whole pesky attraction to Gabriel’s soul would sort itself out.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel was still denying it to himself the next day as Sam let them into the locker room. He was trying to hide his troubled thoughts, but Sam seemed to see his conflicted expression and was looking at him with worried puppy eyes, and that just made it worse, dammit.

 

   He tried to deflect Sam’s attention, slipping into his usual smirk. “Don’t mind me dragging a little ass today, Sammy. Busy night last night.” He winked.

 

   Was he imagining the flash of a jealous expression as Sam turned around? Probably. But even the threat of possibly flirting with a supernatural creature couldn’t keep his eyes off Sam’s ass as he walked up the stairs in front of them. It couldn’t be Sam. No monster could have thighs that had obviously been designed by God himself.

 

   “We won’t be long, we just need to check some of the offices.” Cas was his usual oblivious self, showing no sign that he realised there was any tension in the room.

 

   Gabriel stopped when they got to the landing, as planned. “Damn it! Forgotten my bag, must have left it in the car. Don’t wait for me, guys, I’ll catch up!”

 

   Waiting for a few seconds for Cas and Sam to move to the next floor, instead of exiting out of the doors he went down the steps to the lower floor and picked the lock on the janitor’s break room. Rifling through the lockers, he found several copies of the Weekly World News, and to his disappointment they were full of all-too-familiar stories. He found features on the slow dancing alien and the alligator in the sewer. Gabriel’s hands clenched in the glossy prints as he tried to find his way around the evidence, but unfortunately there it was, and he could swear that the alligator was grinning at him smugly. _You really thought he was human, didn’t you? And you flirted with him! What a dumbass!_

   He thought back to what Sam had said when they first met, about being older than he looked. Yeah, maybe several _millennia_ older. Well, they didn’t know that yet, he reasoned, well and truly in denial now. No need to go unnecessarily staking the hot guy without double checking the facts first.

 

   He even made a point to tell that loudly to Cas later as they strode down the sidewalk. To be honest, the fake argument that they were supposed to be having to throw the trickster off wasn’t so much fake as it was unnecessarily loud so that any nearby monsters would be sure to get the message.

 

   “I’m just telling you, we need some hard proof, that’s all, something better than a few old mags,” He told Cas as he trotted to keep up with his longer strides.

 

   “Well, I’m pretty sure that he’s the man we’re after, even if you do have a crush on him. Did you find any candy down there? Bobby said they have a fast metabolism.”

 

   “Not so much as a single bar of chocolate. Which was a pity, I was getting peckish.”

 

   “Well, you must have missed something.”

 

   Well, the argument might be fake but the irritation was real. “Pretty sure I didn’t.”

 

   “You’re not perfect, Gabriel. Look, just stay here and stake him out. I’m going to find where he’s staying. Wait until I get back, okay?”

 

   “Yeah? Well, make sure you find some solid evidence before we go staking the guy. I’ll wait.” He watched Cas get into the continental and settled in on the steps. The hunt was on, the bait was set. Now he just had to wait.

 

.o0o.

 

   The street lights had come on several hours ago and the campus was deserted. Gabriel tucked his hands into his pockets as he leaned against one of the stone pillars outside the entrance. He might be obvious sitting out here, but that was kind of the point, wasn’t it? Lure him out. If he even was the trickster. Gabriel still wasn’t convinced.

 

   Then, over the slow rumble of traffic from the distant road, there came the feint syrupy sound of music from inside the hall behind him. Gabriel pushed off the pillar and looked up at the stone edifice. There were no lights on still, but yep, that was definitely coming from the building. He sighed and trotted up the steps and into the foyer, footsteps echoing loudly off the tiles. Wandering down the corridor and up a flight of stairs, he followed the music as the adrenaline in his blood built, fingers itching for the stake under his spare jacket.

 

   Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door to the lecture theatre and walked in. Music poured out to greet him, and he hadn’t been prepared for the rather confusing sight of a pair of gorgeous women in skimpy porn getup sprawled across a ridiculously large, plush, scarlet bed. That and the glitter ball. He was fairly sure that wasn’t standard for lecture theatres.

 

   He walked down the steps to the front, eyeing the rest of the room for the trickster as the women crawled towards him with intent smiles. He threw them his trademark smirk.

 

   “Now, ladies, unfortunately for you I like my women natural. And by that, I mean real, rather than you know, imaginary.”

 

   “Trust me, sugar, it’s gonna feel real.” The blonde said, peeking out from under her lashes with a look that could only be described as sinful.

 

   Ohh, that was tempting. Really tempting. But…

 

   “Well, if I’d known that this was what went on at college, I would have given it a shot. But I’m afraid that this time I’m gonna have to pass…”

 

   “They’re a peace offering.”

 

   Gabriel whirled around and felt his stomach drop in disappointment, even though he had known it was coming. Sam was sprawled on the fold-out seats as though he was a college student thinking of napping through a particularly boring lecture, but his eyes glinted sharply through his bangs, totally focused.

 

   “I’m not stupid, I know what you and your brother are. I’ve run into your kind before.”

 

   Gabriel stuck his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. “Well then, you know that we can’t just ignore you killing off the locals.”

 

   Sam rolled his eyes but looked like he had expected it. “Trust me, those guys deserved it. You think I don’t choose my victims very, very carefully? I never kill anyone unless they’ve passed the point of no return.” He was looking almost beseechingly at Gabriel now, like he wanted him to understand. Gabriel hated that it actually had an effect on him. He bristled.

 

   “That’s meant to make me, what, sympathise with you? So you only kill those going directly to hell, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred pounds. Cool motive, still murder. I mean yeah, the professor and the scientist were kind of assholes, but what could those people possibly have done that could possibly deserve getting ganked?”

 

   Sam leaned forwards, and his eyes seemed to darken even as they gleamed brighter, the pressure in the room increasing dangerously like still air before a storm. “That professor was raping girls in his classes by blackmailing them with failure if they refused. Sometimes he also gave lectures at a few of the local high schools.” Gabriel shuddered slightly with horror at the implications of that. “No one ever said anything obviously, because he was a local celebrity. But people knew. And they didn’t do _anything_.” Sam’s voice was deeper than it had been, and it reverberated in the room in a way that sent electric shivers down Gabriel’s spine, the hair on his arms prickling to attention. He was suddenly very aware that the thing in front of him was definitely not human. They hadn’t expected something this powerful. He was seriously starting to debate whether it was a good idea to take him on.

 

    “Then there’s the researcher. He took entirely too much pleasure in what he was doing, he didn’t need to go through half as many animals as he did to perform those experiments. He just liked the sounds he made as they were dying. And that isn’t all. He used to bribe broke students into testing possibly fatal experimental drugs. At least two of them had early stage liver cancer by the time I got here. They’re fine now, by the way.”

 

   Then the atmosphere broke abruptly, the calm in the eye of the storm, and Sam grinned as he leaned back in his chair, just a man again. “I have to admit though, the frat boy was just for fun. Well, it put him back on the right track too. And you and Cas? I like you. So why don’t you just… wait around here? For a day or two. Just long enough for me to move on.”

 

   Gabriel was almost tempted. “Come on, Sam! You know we can’t do that.”

 

   “I don’t want to hurt you. And you know that I could.” Sam said it nonchalantly, like he would do it in a heartbeat, in a second. But Gabriel thought it said something about the trickster that he had known they were coming for him, and yet he hadn’t simply obliterated them the second they rolled into town. From what he had seen, he was certainly powerful enough. There was something holding Sam back…

 

   Wait, no. Not Sam. Sam wasn’t even his name, he had to stop thinking about him like a person. He was just the trickster. Gabriel steeled himself.

 

   “Look, kiddo, I’ve got to tell you, you’ve got style, all right? I mean, that thing with the slow dancing alien? Perfect!” He laughed and the thing that looked like a beautiful man shook his head and laughed with him, shaggy hair falling into his eyes. “But I can’t let you go. Sorry. Nothing personal.”

 

   Sam looked up, face suddenly blank and dangerous. “Too bad. I liked you guys. Cas was right, you should have waited for him.”

 

   Gabriel masked his nerves with a smirk, even as his heart started to dance the lambada against his ribs. “But I did!”

 

   Cas and Joshua entered at the top of the stairs, stakes in hand. Sam twisted, spotted them, then turned again to look at Gabriel, the danger melting off his face and his mouth curling into a smile as though he was actually impressed.

 

   “Wow! That fight you guys had outside, that was a trick?”

 

   Gabriel shrugged, mock-modest. He could feel the attack building in the air. Any second now.

 

   Sam nodded. “Not bad. But you want to see a real trick?”

 

   There was the ripping roar of a chainsaw from the top of the stairs, but Gabriel didn’t even glance at it as he leapt towards the trickster, stake held high. Before he even got close a hand closed in the back of his jacket, yanking him backwards. The next thing he knew he was soaring through the air in the opposite direction, then his head smacked into the edge of the giant bed. His ears were still ringing dizzily when the women dragged him upright and started punching him with bony fists, tittering with girlish laughter. He supposed blearily that it was kind of fitting that Sam decided to beat him up with fake hookers. In the background he could still hear the chainsaw and loud thumps and crashes, but he didn’t even have a second to look and see if Cas was still occupied.

 

   Another few rounds with the women (unfortunately not the fun kind) and he was flying again, this time landing on the lecture seats just the row in front of where Sam was sat still, watching the performance with dark amusement.

 

   “I didn’t want to have to do this,” Sam said, starting to get up.

 

   “Gabe!” He suddenly heard from behind him. He turned just in time to catch the stake that Cas tossed him, and he twisted his torso, carrying the momentum on to stab the trickster in the chest.

 

   “Me neither,” he panted as he drove the stake deeper, Sam making a startled choking sound, “Sorry.”

 

   As the stake pierced Sam’s ribcage their eyes met, brown hazel looking down into blue wrought through with green-gold filigree, and he could have sworn that there was a spark in there, something like surprise, followed by something like admiration.

 

   Then it was gone, and those eyes rolled up as the large body dropped heavily back onto the seats, blood dripping from the slack mouth and soaking into the fabric. They all stood there panting for a second, trying to catch their breath with adrenaline still hammering through their veins. Gabriel tried not to feel the splinter of regret that was digging its way into his heart at the sight of Sam’s limp body.

 

   He shook himself. Jesus, Gabriel, get a grip.

 

   “Pity,” he commented, “He was kind of an okay guy. Apart from the whole murder thing.”

 

.o0o.

 

   It wasn’t until after they were in the car again and roaring out of town, having made his apologies to Cas over the hood while Josh yelled at them to get their fool asses moving, that Gabriel realised what had been niggling at the back of his conscience.

 

   The girls had vanished. The chainsaw-wielding maniac had vanished. The disco ball had vanished.

 

   So why, when they left, had there been a giant sex bed still gracing the lecture theatre?

 

   There was only one conclusion to come to, and it was only backed up when he found his jacket again later, neatly folded and rip free on the back seat of the Continental. Rubbing a thumb over the worn fabric he grinned, but didn’t mention it to Cas or Josh.  He had a feeling they might meet the trickster again soon enough, no need to go gallivanting across the country after it when vampires were murdering people in the next town over. And he was surprised to find that he didn’t really mind that the trickster had survived. In fact, deep down he might have been a little relieved.

 

   What could he say? The guy had style.


	2. All Hell Breaks Loose (again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reworking of All hell breaks loose parts 1 and 2. Warnings for temporary character death and gory stuff!

   Gabriel threw Ion away in disgust and leant over for a second, breathing heavily. It was a while before he regained the strength to pull himself upright again and stagger through the remains of the smashed fence. After three days of battling it out with the other demon blooded children, he was more than ready to leave Cold Oak.  He was outta here, done, finito, hasta la vista.

 

   He limped towards the road, and lo and behold, there was the familiar rumble of the continental as the headlights swung towards him and screeched to a halt. Late to the party, as always. His brother’s silhouette jumped out of the driver’s seat and came striding towards him, and Gabriel spread his arms out in exhausted welcome.

 

   “Cassie! You missed all the fun! You’re only three days late.”

 

   “Gabriel, look out! Behind you!”

 

   He didn’t even get a chance to turn. There was a flash of white hot pain deep in his back and he was falling before he could even register his surprise-

 

   BANG of a gun going off over his head and-

 

   Then he was on the ground and Cas was above him eyes huge and desperate, waves of pain or was it melting heat or cold or darkness and he was-

 

   Gone.

 

.o0o.

 

   He came back with a gasp and a ragged drag of breath through dry-cracked lips. Not the kind of breath you take when woken from a long, restful sleep, but rather the type of first breath taken after coughing water from drowned lungs, or into the brand new lungs of a new-born baby.

 

   To be frank, coming back to life sucked balls. Great big, shiny bronze ones.

 

   He might have drifted off again for a while, reality fading in and out like a badly tuned television.

 

   Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of gasping like a fish out of water, Gabriel felt a little more alive. “Cas?” he croaked, then immediately fell into a coughing fit.

 

   After he was finished, and was almost sure that he wasn’t about to choke up his lungs, he groaned and swore quietly to himself. His muscles ached as though they were trying to rip themselves off his skeleton.

 

    Looking around, he couldn’t see anyone in the room, or even hear people moving around in the rest of the house. That was odd. Usually when you gave someone the kiss of life you stuck around to see if it had worked or not, rather than buggering off.

 

   He swung his legs over the edge of the bed he was lying on (the hideous décor that looked like it had been installed by a colour-blind mole in the 1920s meant that this was Joshua’s spare room) and tried sitting up. That resulted in him lying back down and trying again, much more slowly several minutes later, when it no longer felt as though his brain and stomach were strapped into a spinning fairground ride.

 

   Gabriel braced his arms against the side of the bed and tried to piece back the jigsaw puzzle that was his memories of the last few days. He remembered Cold Oak- the abandoned town, all the other demon blooded children, Ion turning out to be biggest dick to ever walk the earth- and wait, right at the end there, where everything went fuzzy and indistinct, had he been stabbed? But it couldn’t have been, he wouldn’t have survived that…

 

   He was just starting to contemplate the effort of reaching his hand around to his back to check for a wound when he heard the front door swing closed and Cas’ heavy footfalls coming along the corridor. He stopped in the doorway, and wow, he looked like shit. His eyes were red and there were deep bags under them, and was that dirt or blood on his coat?

 

   For a second, Cas just stood there framed by the door, as though he wasn’t quite sure whether Gabriel was real or not.

 

   Then he was rushing forwards, and Gabriel wheezed with pain as strong arms wrapped around him. He was practically lifted into the air as Cas clung to him like he hadn’t since he was six years old and scared of the dark. Gabriel patted him awkwardly on the back from where his arms were pinned to his sides, and realised with shock that Cas was shaking.

 

   “Woah, Cassie, you okay? What happened? Dude, talk to me.”

 

   Cas took a deep, shuddering breath and straightened. “Never mind about me. It’s just… it was a bit touch and go for a while, whether you would make it. Josh managed to fix you up.” Cas put Gabriel down and he winced at his slightly crushed ribs. It must have been a close call if Cas was panicking like this. So where was Josh?

 

   “You must be hungry, come on, I’ll order us something and you can tell me what happened at Cold Oak.”

 

   Gabriel frowned slightly but went along with it. He knew that no one should have been able to heal from the types of wound that he had felt that dagger make in his back. But screw it, he was too hungry and tired to argue about it now, and he didn’t feel like calling the orthodontist for the gift horse right this second.

 

   Over pizza he told Cas the whole bloody tale about the other children and the slaughter, and Cas listened with growing horror. Then he asked Cas what he had been doing, and when the news came up about the roadhouse, Gabriel couldn’t believe his ears. All those friends dead, Naomi and Samandriel. And the roadhouse had become a base of sorts, another friendly place where they were welcome. Another home lost.

 

   He heaved himself up from the table, wincing as the muscles in his back pulled warningly. “We’ve got to go, we’ve got to catch the son of a bitch.”

 

   He staggered a little and Cas hurried around the table and tried to get him to sit down again. “No, Gabriel! You almost died out there! You need to get your strength back.”

 

   There were footsteps on the porch and Gabriel felt Cas stiffen a little against him. Josh walked in, then froze when he saw them. Gabriel tried to grin at him.

 

   “Hey there Josh, you can’t get rid of me that easily. Thanks for patching me up.”

 

   Was it just him, or did Joshua seem to pale slightly? “Good to see you back on your feet,” He said slowly, eyes flicking from Cas to Gabe and back again.

 

   Cas straightened. “Gabriel and I are back in the game. What do you know, Joshua?”

 

   After another long, searching look at Cas, Josh explained; the demonic omens, the eye of the storm in Wyoming. He left Gabriel to look at the map while he and Cas went to get some more books from the truck, and Gabriel listened to the distant sound of them arguing with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Something was wrong, he could feel it in the air. He narrowed his eyes. Whatever it was, they weren’t going to tell him about it, and he hated to be kept out of the loop.

 

   He jumped up again with amazement when he saw who was with them when they came back. Naomi trailed the smell of smoke and grief, and after a round of checks with salt water and silver they listened in horror as she told them what had happened to the roadhouse.

 

   “It was just dumb luck that I survived. We ran out of pretzels,” she muttered into her shot. “Samandriel called in a panic, told me to look in the safe, then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the place was an inferno. Everyone was dead.” She knocked back the shot in one and slid her glass over for another, reaching into her coat and throwing a map onto the table. “That’s what was in the safe.”

 

   They were amazed to find the devil’s trap made of iron train tracks. “That must be where the Hell Gate is,” Cas muttered, tracing the lines on the thin paper with the tips of his fingers.

 

   “So the devil’s trap was to keep the demons in?” Gabriel shook his head. “Colt was a sneaky bastard. I like him.”

 

    Naomi scowled at the map, and then at the pattern of demon omens. “So something’s trying to open the Gate, but it can’t be a demon. A demon couldn’t get past those iron rails.”

 

   “But something else could,” Gabriel realised with horror, “A human with demon blood could. They could get in there and open it up like a can of pop, then the whole of hell would break loose. I bet that’s where Ion’s gone.”

 

   Joshua snatched up the map and made for the door. “Well come on, then. We’d better get moving if we want to catch the little shit.”

 

.o0o.

 

   They were too late to stop it, just their luck. Ion was already there, standing in front of an enormous mausoleum with a set of ornate doors with metallic symbols carved into them.

 

   “You were dead, I killed you.” Ion stared at Gabriel as if he was seeing a ghost, paying no attention to the guns they had trained on him.

 

   Gabriel put on his best smirk. “Guess I’m just too cute to die,”

 

   Ion shook his head. “I cut clean through your spinal cord, you can’t be alive.”

 

   Gabriel felt his doubts come back in full force, even though he tried to squash them back down. How _had_ he survived? He turned his head slightly to glance at Cas, who was pointedly not looking at him. Surely not.

 

   Deal with it later. Not now.

 

   “So what are you gonna do with that gun, kill me?” Ion was taunting him. “You couldn’t do that the first time.”

 

   “Yeah, well, I won’t make that mistake twice, believe me.”

 

   Ion turned his attention to Naomi. “Hey, lady, put that gun to your head.” They watched in horror as, with trembling hands, she turned the gun and pressed the muzzle to her temple. Ion turned back to Gabriel with an insane grin. “You see, once you give in to it, there’s all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn.”

 

   Gabriel laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, I’ll learn some just for you, sunshine. That choking one looks pretty neat.”

 

   He was considering how fast Ion might be able to control them, if he could shoot him before he could force Naomi to shoot herself, but Ion must have been able to sense their trigger fingers itching. “You’d be wiping up bits of skull before you got a shot off. Put your guns down.”

 

   Reluctantly they lowered their weapons. Ion turned and shoved the barrel of the colt into the hole at the centre of the knot of runes on the door.

 

   That was the opening they had been waiting for. Immediately, Cas and Josh seized Naomi’s arms and forced the gun away from her head, just before it went off. Gabriel ran forwards, knocking Ion to the side with a blow which broke his nose with a loud crunch. He pointed the barrel of the gun down at him where he sprawled on the ground.

 

   Gabriel looked down at Ion’s terrified bloodied face and, instead of remorse, felt his mouth twist in vindictive satisfaction. He pulled the trigger and felt the gun jump in his grip, felt warm blood stipple his arms and face. And again. And again and again until Ion’s chest was a bloody mess.

 

   “Please,” Ion rasped up at him, “Please…” But Gabriel’s heart was cold in his chest as he took aim at his face.

 

   BANG.

 

   The others hurried past, their eyes lingering between the corpse and him. He ignored Cas’ troubled eyes and wiped some stray spatters from the side of his face.

 

   The colt was still in the door, the runed cogs spinning for a second before they stopped, the lines coming together in a pentagram.

 

   “Too late, go, get out of the way, they’re coming!” Josh yelled, waving them back and they scattered, diving behind headstones.

 

   They were just in time. A magical shockwave flattened the grass. The doors flew open with a wave of foul stench, like sewage and rotting flesh fermented in the middle of summer, and black smoke pouring out like boiling oily pitch. They watched in horror as the demons scattered across the sky, dispersing so far that they must have burst through the devil’s trap through sheer numbers.

 

   “Come on! We’ve got to shut the door!” Naomi yelled over the rushing wind.

 

   They ran forwards and started pushing, the resistance from the forces inside making it difficult to make any headway at all. Suddenly Gabriel realised that Cas wasn’t helping them with the doors and looked around.

 

   He saw Cas on the ground, a trickle of blood running from a cut on his forehead, and there opposite him was the demon, the one they had been hunting since Cas was a crying baby in his arms.

 

   Gabriel ran forwards without thinking, only to be hurled backwards with a casual gesture by the smirking demon. It grinned, inspecting him with its horrible mustard yellow eyes.

 

   “I’ll get to you in a minute, but I’m real proud of yah, Gabriel. Knew I bet on the right horse.” Gabriel snarled and struggled harder, for all the difference it made.

 

   Azazel strolled forwards, completely at ease, as though he was in a sunlit park rather than in a graveyard with an open gate to hell at his back. He hunkered in front of Cas where he was propped against a tombstone with an expression of cold hatred on his face, and began talking to him with words that Gabriel couldn’t hear over the foul wind. Whatever it was, Gabriel didn’t like the barely concealed guilt that spread across Cas’ expression.

 

   Suddenly the demon stood, and Gabriel looked on in horror as the demon pointed the gun down at Cas’ head.

 

   “Cas! **No**!”

 

   A blurry shape materialised behind Azazel, and Gabriel watched on helplessly as the spirit of Chuck wrenched the demon out of its meatsuit. The ghost was wrestling with the black smoke, grappling it, gripping with insubstantial fingers. He was so busy watching the fight that he didn’t notice as Cas snatched the gun out of the abandoned body’s fingers. Azazel threw their father off, funnelling back into the corpse and jumping to his feet, but he was too late. Cas levelled the colt at him and shot him dead in the heart.

 

   Azazel stood there for a second, a surprised look on his face as he stared down at Cas, then his body lit up from the inside with red fire like an electrical storm inside the borrowed skin. He dropped, shuddering, to his knees, then slowly keeled over. He was still. The yellow-eyed demon was gone.

 

   The force holding Gabriel in place suddenly vanished and he dropped to his knees. He rose shakily and staggered over to where Cas was looking down at the empty corpse that had housed their worst enemy with a blank, shocked expression on his face.

 

   It was over. It was finally over.

 

   What now?

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel hadn’t wanted to consider that he might have actually died at Cold Oak, hadn’t wanted to even think about it as a possibility. But after the giddy adrenaline and the high emotions of having their father’s spirit pulling them both into a rough hug before vanishing into a puff of light, it was still nagging at the back of his mind. He knew that that knife had gone straight through his spine, he had felt it, and he wasn’t stupid. People didn’t just bounce back from that.

 

   There was really only one conclusion to come to.

 

   His worst fears were confirmed when he finally looked into Castiel’s stubbornly unapologetic face and asked if he had sold his soul. “It was worth it,” was all he would say, and Gabriel had to walk stiffly away and punch a tree until his knuckles bled before his temper abated enough that he might not punch Castiel instead.

 

    “You idiot!” he seethed at Cas’ mulish face. “You absolute fucking moron! That was the stupidest fucking thing you’ve ever done! What are we going to do now, huh? First Dad, and now…” He broke off shaking his head. “How long did you get?”

 

   “A year,” Cas said, not looking at him, face a stoic mask.

 

   “Fuck,” Gabriel swore, running his hands through his hair, “Goddamnit. Why, Cas?”

 

   “Because that’s my job, we have to look out for each other.”

 

   Gabriel cut him off. “No! I’m older, I should be protecting you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Cas.” He took a deep breath. “So we’re gonna find a way to stop this. I’m gonna save your ass, and you’re going to let me. And then you are gonna buy me all the candy.”

 

   There was a beat of silence where they stared at each other, Cas looking slightly surprised. Then the corner of Cas mouth turned up in the echo of a smile. “Yes. Alright.”

 

   “And you’ll let me eat it in the car.”

 

   Cas hesitated, then grimaced and nodded. Gabriel harrumphed, then turned to get in the continental. They had to get going. They still had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is fully finished, the posting schedule should be pretty tight, so expect an update every few days! As always, feel free to comment, and kudos is always appreciated :)


	3. Misery Spot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reworking of Mystery Spot, so get ready for all the angst!

 

 

_‘Heeeat of the moment!’_

 

   “Asia, Gabriel? Really?” Cas groaned, grumpy eyes barely emerging from where the blankets were rucked up over him like he was considering hibernation.

 

   Gabriel practically jumped out of his own bed, brim full of energy like he always was in the mornings. “Come on, Cas! You love this song, I know you do! Rise and shine! Sing with me!”

 

   Cas rolled his eyes and covered his head as Gabriel began to bellow the lyrics, turning up the volume to rock concert decibels as he danced towards the bathroom in his boxers and night shirt. By the time Cas stumbled in after him, bleary eyed and scowling, Gabriel had finished brushing his teeth and was gargling noisily.

 

   “Why d’you ‘ave to ge shuch an obnoshoush morning pershon?” Cas grumbled around a mouthful of toothpaste. Gabriel just made a face at him and began warbling through his mouthwash. Cas grimaced in disgust.

 

   After they were dressed, Cas practically dragged Gabriel towards the nearest diner for his morning caffeine fix. The bell jangled as they went inside, and the rich, warm aroma of coffee and fried food permeated the air. Gabriel took one of the tables by the window and Cas dropped down into the chair opposite him.

 

   “The menu says that it’s Tuesday. Pig’n’a poke.” Cas squinted up at the specials board like the universe was personally offending him.

 

   Gabriel smirked at him. “Yeah sure, go for it Miss Piggy. You have that special. Whatever your cholesterol ridden little heart desires.”

 

   “Gabriel, calling me Miss Piggy is inaccurate as she was herself a pig, so consuming a Pig’n’a poke would have been cannibalism. And you’re one to talk, I’ll be surprised if we’re not treating you for diabetes within a few years.”

 

   Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Cassie, sometimes I forget how much of an overly literal snarky bastard you are before caffeine, but then you always go and remind me.”

 

   A large, friendly looking woman bustled over before Cas could give a sour reply. “What can I get you, boys?”

 

   Gabriel smiled winningly up at the waitress. “I’ll have a short stack, extra cream and a latte please, sweetheart. A special and a large black coffee for him too.” She nodded and smiled at them as she took down their order and walked back towards the kitchen. Cas scowled at Gabriel for ordering for him, even though Gabriel knew that he hated interacting with people before ten.

 

   “So, Dexter Hassleback,” Gabriel prompted.

 

   Cas sighed and pulled out his laptop from his bag. “Passing through town when he vanished last week on the way to the Broward County mystery spot.” He handed over a flier which Gabriel flicked through.

 

   “Well, this looks like a giant tourist sink. Talk about a colossal waste of money.”

 

   The waitress was back, balancing a tray. “One coffee, one latte, and chocolate syrup for the… Whoops!” The syrup toppled off the tray and shattered across the linoleum, spraying the tiles with sticky brown liquid. She apologised and went to fetch another one, yelling over her shoulder for someone to clean up.

 

   Gabriel looked down at the sticky mess on the floor. “What a waste of perfectly good chocolate syrup.” Castiel didn’t reply, inhaling over his coffee cup with a blissed out look on his face.

 

………

 

   “Come on, Cas, this is absolute bullshit. I mean, balls rolling uphill? Really? I’m impressed, they’re tricking people out of their money with a couple of simple illusions and I’ve gotta respect that, but still- watch it, lady!” he said as a woman slammed into his shoulder and kept walking, muttering apologies.

 

   “Some of these places are legitimate, Gabriel. There is a lot of lore about places in the world where the magnetic fields are strong enough to bend space time, the Bermuda triangle for example-”

 

   “And Broward County Mystery spot? Legitimate my ass.”

 

   They walked around two workmen who were hauling an enormous harp around and cursing loudly.

 

   “Look, Gabriel, I’m not saying that anything is definitely happening, just that we should check it out. Just in case it is something.”

 

   “Yeah, fine, whatever. We’ll go tonight after it closes, there’s only so much stupid I can deal with before spontaneously combusting”

 

………

 

   Inside it was just as Gabriel had imagined, all ridiculous painted walls, furniture glued to the ceiling and the musty, damp smell of an old and poorly kept building. They prodded around for an hour, but there was nothing more incriminating than some dangerously bad wiring. Gabriel was just about to suggest that they go when a panicked voice spoke up from behind them.

 

   “What the hell are you doing here?” they spun around to find a skinny man with a rat-like face pointing a rifle at them with trembling hands.

 

   “Woah woah woah! Easy there, pal! We can explain!” Gabriel said, raising his hands in surrender. The guy just looked more nervous.

 

   “Are you robbing me?” His voice was high and hysterical, and he swung the gun wildly to point at Cas instead. “You! Don’t move!”

 

   “Nobody is trying to rob you, please calm down, I’m just going to put down my gun,” Cas said, starting to bend over.

 

   The report of the rifle was deafening in the enclosed space. The shot was at such point blank range that there was a fine red mist left in the air as Cas toppled backwards, a surprised expression on his face, blood already staining his white shirt scarlet.

 

   “CAS! No!” Gabriel yelled, forgetting about the gun as he leapt over to his brother and knelt, trying to staunch the bleeding. “No, no, Cas, not like this. You stay with me, you hear? Stay with me!”

 

   But it was too late, there was too much blood, and Cas’ deep blue pain-filled eyes locked with his for a second before they were blank and lifeless, his body going limp. Gabriel whispered “ _no,_ ” cold denial filling him, and-

 

.o0o.

 

_‘Heeeeat of the moment!”_

   Gabriel jolted awake to the sound of Asia. For a second he just breathed, trying to calm his lurching heart, then rolled over and sat up, looking at the other bed. There was Cas, fully under the covers with nothing but his tousled bed head poking out. He was safe. He was fine. It had just been a dream, nothing more. He took a deep breath and shook himself to dispel the last of the gut-clenching terror.

 

   “Rise and shine, Cassie!”

………

 

   “Are you sure that you’re alright, Gabriel? You seem a little… subdued.”

 

   The bustle of the little diner was looking strangely familiar. Jesus, he hoped his prophetic visions weren’t back again, those things had been so damn painful he thought that his brain was being ripped out through his nose using a vacuum cleaner.

 

   “You saying I’m usually loud, Cas?” Gabriel shook his head. “Nah, just had a weird dream, that’s all.” He looked up at the specials board and frowned. “Hey, it’s Tuesday?”

 

   “Yes, Pig’n’a poke,” Cas said, eyeing up the other customer’s cups of coffee like he might snatch one if he didn’t get his own soon.

 

   Gabriel ignored the growing bad feeling he had about just how familiar this felt while they ordered and ate breakfast. It was all the same, exactly the same, like someone had copied and pasted his dream into reality. He was still running through the previous day’s events when they walked out onto the street, the shop bell ringing cheerfully behind them.

 

   “You don’t remember any of this? Today? Like it’s happened before?” He asked Cas as they walked around the harp-moving workmen. Even the curses were the same.

 

   Cas frowned at him like he was being strange and his eyes scrunched in confusion. “No. Are you sure that you are feeling okay, Gabriel?”

 

   “Hey, didn’t you say something about the mystery spot, how it might be warping reality? That might be it!” Cas was actually starting to look concerned in his own special constipated way, but Gabriel waved him off. Maybe he was finally going dingo-ate-my-baby crazy. It wouldn’t surprise him, it was probably because he had lived on the road with Cassie for too long.

 

   “Well, regardless, we should go and check the place for EMF tonight.”

 

   “No!” Gabriel grabbed Cas’ arm and yanked him to a stop. “Not tonight. We should go now! Lots of visitors, nice and crowded, nobody notices the weirdos running EMF meters all over everything. We’ll blend right in.”

 

   “Alright.” Cas gave him an odd look but went with it. He walked ahead as Gabriel dawdled, debating and deciding that no, he shouldn’t have told Cas that he had died. No need to worry him about a stupid dream. “Come on then, we’d better get back so I can start on that research, maybe-”

 

   The car came out of nowhere as it ran the light and hit Cas head-on with a colossal BANG. Castiel’s body flipped through the air in a whirl of tan trench coat and Gabriel knew even before he hit the floor that the damage would be too great.

 

   He felt the tears prickling in his eyes for the second time in twenty four hours as he ran to Cas and pulled his limp body into his lap, cradling him gently as a small trickle of blood oozed from between Cas’ slack lips. No, no, it couldn’t be real. He hunched over, curled around Cas. He had to protect him, they couldn’t-

 

.o0o.

 

   _‘Heeeeat of the moment!”_

   Gabriel woke with a jolt and jumped out of bed, only stopping to see that Cas was tucked up safe and snoring under the covers. He staggered into the bathroom, heart still pounding, and gripped the rim of the sink with shaking hands until they turned white, gulping to will away his nausea. He looked up into his own haunted eyes in his pallid face and waited as his gasping breaths gradually slowed. “Something is wrong,” he whispered to himself.

 

   Cas has been right. There was something seriously fishy going on in this town, and it had nothing to do with the diner’s slightly suspicious scrambled eggs. There was something here, he could feel it now, and it wanted to kill Cas for some reason. There was no way around it, this was a hunt. And this one was personal.

 

………

 

   “It’s Tuesday, Gabriel. Pig’n’a poke.”

 

   “Would you shut the fuck up about the breakfast options for one second, Cas? I’m trying to freak out quietly over here.” The waitress gave him a disapproving look for the swearing as she passed the table.

 

   Cas was wearing his disappointed expression. “So why exactly are you freaking out? If this is still about that man who turned you down in that last bar, Gabriel, you need to get over yourself. Not everyone has your loose criteria for selecting sexual partners.”

 

   Gabriel scowled at him. “No, of course not! This is something completely different. And anyway, what do you mean ‘loose criteria’? I’ll have you know that I’m very selective-”

 

   Cas managed to convey enough scepticism with one minutely raised eyebrow to fell a large rhinoceros at thirty paces.

 

   “Shut up.”

 

   “You were telling me about why you’re freaking out?”

 

   The waitress interrupted them. “Are you boys ready?”

 

   Gabriel spoke before Cas could reply. “He’ll have the special and a large black coffee. I’ll have a tall stack and extra cream, please. And a Frappuccino.” He needed sugar this morning, and he needed it now.

 

   She bustled away and Cas turned to Gabriel with a slightly sour expression. “Why did you order for me?”

 

   “It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

 

   “Yes, but how did you know?”

 

   Gabriel gave him a small smirk. “Well, for one thing, you’re just that predictable. But mostly because I’ve done this before.”

 

   “What?”

 

   Gabriel leaned forwards and lowered his voice slightly. “This whole day. I’ve been through it twice now, full on groundhog day.”

 

   Cas scrunched his face up in confusion and Gabriel sighed, exasperated. “Like a time loop, okay? Jesus, I swear we must have seen that film on TV together at least five times.”

 

   Cas still looked sceptical. “I don’t know, Gabriel. It sounds a little crazy. Even for us.”

 

  Gabriel bristled. “Oh yeah? Well you weren’t the one living it, were you?”

 

   Cas glanced around at the other patrons as heads began to turn towards Gabriel’s rising voice. “Gabriel, calm down.”

 

   “Don’t you tell me to calm down!” But Gabriel spoke a little more quietly and settled back in his seat, eyes still darting around the room.

 

   The waitress returned in a swish of apron and the smell of the kitchen. “One coffee, one Frappuccino, and chocolate syrup for the… Whoops!” Gabriel’s hand darted out and caught the bottle before it fell. “Thanks!” She said, and he grinned tightly at her until she walked away again.

 

   “Nice reflexes.”

 

   “No. I knew it was coming. Time loop, remember.” Gabriel was getting twitchy again, shredding a napkin into tiny pieces between his fingers without being aware that he was doing it.

 

   “Look, Gabriel, I’m sure that there is an explanation for this. Calm down and we can figure it out.”

 

   Gabriel burst out, “I can’t! I can’t calm down because…” he stopped and stuttered off, then spoke more quietly. “Because you die today, Cas.”

 

   Cas looked shocked, then disbelieving. “What? I’m not going to die, not today.”

 

   Gabriel shook his head. “Twice now. I’ve watched you die, twice, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I can’t…” Gabriel gulped and wiped a hand over his face. “You’re not going to die again. I can’t watch that. Please, you have to believe me.”

 

   Cas watched him very seriously as the waitress walked towards them with their orders. “Alright, I believe you. We’ll figure this out.”

 

………

 

   “So might the mystery spot have something to do with it?”

 

   Gabriel dodged the woman who would have barged into him and answered, “Dunno. Maybe. When we looked around before everything looked about as convincing as a rubber duck, but I mean there’s enough lore for at least some of these wormhole things to be legit, right? Maybe time’s getting a bit bent around here. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

 

   “Alright, we’ll go again tonight and have a look.”

 

   Gabriel held him back. “No. Not tonight.”

 

   “Why not?”

 

   “Because…” He hesitated then decided that he would have to tell the truth this time. “Because you die. Blown away by the owner.”

 

   “Oh.” Cas looked a little shocked, as though it hadn’t really sunk in until that point what exactly Gabriel had meant when he said that he had been killed. “I guess we’d better go now then.” He stepped onto the road.

 

   Gabriel lunged forwards and seized the back of his coat, dragging him backwards as the car blew past with a blare of horn. They panted together for a second as they caught their breath.

 

   “Was that…?”

 

   Gabriel nodded. “Yeah. Yesterday. Let’s find this thing before I have to watch you pop your clogs ever again.”

 

……

 

   “I can’t thank you boys enough for this, we need all the good ink we can get.” Rat-face was looking at them like the sun was shining out of their assholes, and Gabriel couldn’t help the nauseous dislike every time he looked at his face. The guy had killed his brother the day before yesterday, and even if it hadn’t happened in this timeline, it didn’t stop Gabriel from wanting to introduce his face to the business end of a baseball bat. Repeatedly.

 

   “So, how long have you owned this place?” Cas asked.

 

   “Well, my family have been guarding the secrets here since time immemorial!” he said with an overly dramatic flourish.

 

   “Have you seen anything strange happen?” Cas asked, clearly not picking up on the sales patter interfering with his investigation.

 

   “Strange? But strange things happen here _all_ the time!” Rat-face gave them a look that was probably meant to be mysterious but just came off as slightly deranged. “It’s a mystery spot! Where the laws of physics… have no meaning!”

 

   Cas looked singularly unimpressed with the man’s performance, and Gabriel lost his patience. “Yes, but how do they have no meaning? Be specific.”

 

   The man pulled a toothy smile. “Take the tour.”

 

   “Did Mr. Hasselback take the tour?” Castiel asked.

 

   Suddenly rat-face was looking a little nervous under his jovial persona. “Hold on, what kind of article is this?”

 

   “Just answer the question.”

 

   He was definitely unhappy now. “The police scoured every inch of this place, didn’t find a trace. I’d never seen that man before in my life before the cops arrived on my doorstep with a warrant. We’re just a family establishment.”

 

   Gabriel stepped up to him until they were toe to toe and looked him in the eye. “Look here, buster. There’s something strange going on around here. Do you know anything about it or not?”

 

   The last of the happy mask slid off the man’s face like ice cream off a hot pavement. “Okay, guys, um… look. Take it easy. I bought this place last fall at a foreclosure auction. I used to sell bail bonds, okay?”

 

   Cas glanced quickly between their faces. “Gabriel, let’s take a break. Come on.”

 

………

 

   “Well, that was a bust. What a load of crap.” Gabriel sighed irritably as they walked back along the road towards the diner. He was seriously considering waffles to make up for the terrible morning.

 

   “So… how does it work? Every day I die, and then you just… wake up?”

 

   “Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

 

   “So all we have to do is ensure I don’t die. Maybe if I live to tomorrow the loop stops and we can solve this.”

 

   “It can’t be that easy, but I suppose it’s worth a shot. Let’s head back to the motel, order some food and lay low. Sound good to you?”

 

   Cas nodded and started walking. “I want to order burgers, if that’s okay with-”

 

   A gigantic harp descended from the sky like a judgement from above and landed with a deafening _CRASH_ and a discordant clang of strings. Gabriel stared dumbly at his brother’s feet sticking out from under the base, twitching once before lying still, vaguely registering the constellation of red spattered on the concrete. He couldn’t cry, couldn’t feel anything except mute horror because he couldn’t stop it, Cas was-

 

.o0o.

 

   _‘Heeeat of the moment!”_

Gabriel screwed his eyes shut and turned his face into his pillow. He couldn’t do this.

 

………

 

   “Well, I still think that this is a little crazy, even for us, but we’ll find an explanation.” Cas was looking at him worriedly across the slightly tacky table. “Why do you think you are in a time loop?”

 

   “Well, the whole living the day again thing was my first clue,” Gabriel said sarcastically, “At first I thought it was the mystery spot behind it but now I’m not so sure.”

 

   “So, what do we do?”

 

   “Well, we try to keep you breathing till tomorrow, see if it breaks the loop.”

 

   “That doesn’t sound too hard.”

 

   Gabriel snorted. “I’ve watched you die three times now, and I couldn’t do a thing about it, trust me, or we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

 

   “Well, the future is not set in stone. We have free will. You said that I order the same thing every day?”

 

   “Yeah, Pig’n’a poke.”

 

   “Well then, I will simply order something else.” He turned and looked over the bar towards the kitchen, raising his voice. “Excuse me, would it be alright to change my order? Can I get a burger instead, please?”

 

   “Sure thing, hun!”

 

   Gabriel snorted. “Oh, please don’t make me sit here and watch you die of cholesterol induced cardiac arrest instead.”

 

   Cas gave him an unamused look. A few minutes later Cas’ breakfast arrived in all its greasy glory and he took a pointedly large bite as though to prove just how worth the heart attack it was. Gabriel smirked down into his coffee at his brother’s antics, only to look up again in alarm at the horrible choking sounds from the other side of the table.

 

   “Cas? Cas! _Cas!”_

 

.o0o.

 

_‘Heeeat of the moment!”_

 

   “Can’t we even go out for breakfast?” Cas’ dulcet, grumpy tones echoed out of the bathroom. Hell hath no fury like an uncaffeinated Castiel.

 

   “You’ll thank me when it’s Wednesday!” Gabriel hollered back.

 

   A few seconds later he heard the shrillest shriek he had ever heard from his brother coming from the shower, then a thump and-

 

.o0o.

 

   _‘Heeeat of the moment!’_

   Dodgy tacos were more of a problem than anyone ever suspected.

 

.o0o.

 

_‘Heeeat of the moment!’_

 

   An unfortunate incident with a wood chipper.

 

.o0o.

 

   _‘Heeeat of the moment!’_

 

   Turns out that a stripper’s stiletto could go right through a human skull if they were enraged enough. Gabriel was never going to try to get Cas laid again, last night on earth or not.

 

.o0o.

 

  _‘Heeeat of the moment!’_

 

   It was the ninety fifth Tuesday, and Gabriel was beyond done. He was so beyond done, in fact, that he was going to single-handedly rip this fucking place apart if he had to. He snarled as he used the axe to take out another stubborn board.

 

   “Okay, Gabriel, I think you’ve done enough now.” Cas was approaching, hands held up placatingly. Gabriel almost hissed as he hugged the axe closer.

 

   “No! You don’t understand, I’m gonna take this place down to studs!”

 

   “Give me that!”

 

   “No!”

 

   They scuffled, grabbing for the axe, and just when Cas managed to pry it out of his hands he tripped on a piece of plank. Red splatters stained the splintered wood.

 

   “Cas? Cas!”

 

.o0o.

 

_‘Heeeat of the moment!’_

 

   Gabriel filched the old man’s keys with practiced ease as they walked past him into the familiar warmth of the diner, and dropped them onto the middle of the table. Cas frowned down at them and then back up at Gabriel.

 

   “Oh, trust me, you don’t want him behind the wheel. Guy drives like he gets points for knocking over pedestrians.”

 

   “What can I get you, boys?”

 

   Cas glanced once more at Gabriel before turning to the waitress. “I’ll have the pig’n’a poke and a black coffee, please.”

 

   Gabriel turned to the waitress as well. “Hey, Doris? What I’d like is for you to log in some more hours at the archery range. Like, a hundred more hours. You’re a terrible shot.”

 

   “How did you know?”

 

   Gabriel smiled tightly. “Lucky guess.”

 

   She left quickly, looking disturbed, and Cas was scowling again. “You are not usually this grumpy in the mornings, Gabriel.”

 

   “Yeah? Well, this is the hundred and tenth Tuesday I’ve been through, so yeah, wonder why I’m a little grumpy. Chocolate syrup.”

 

   “What?”

 

   “One coffee, and chocolate syrup for the… Whoops!” Gabriel didn’t even have to look by now, just stuck out his hand and grabbed the bottle out of the air.

 

   “Thanks,” She said, a little disconcerted, and bustled away again as quickly as she could.

 

   “Nice reflexes.”

 

   “I knew it was going to happen, Cas, I know everything that’s going to happen. I know everything about everyone in this goddamned town.” He glanced over at the counter. “Randy over there is skimming from the register. Mr Winchester, in the middle, he has a nice little side line in fake documents and credit card fraud. Cal, on the end? Scruffy guy? He’s gonna rob Toby the mechanic on his way home. Judge Myers? At night, he puts on a fluffy bunny outfit, and begs Sally the greengrocer’s wife to spank him. And you do not want to know how I know that. What has been seen can never be unseen.” There was a small bang and a shattering noise as Judge Myers dropped his drink on the floor in shock.

 

   Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at Cas mournfully. “I’ve lived through every possible Tuesday, watched you die in a hundred and ten horrifyingly inventive ways, and it never stops. Never. I can never save your life. No matter what I do, you die.”

 

………

 

   It seemed pointless to walk down the street in exactly the same way each day, but each day that was exactly what they ended up doing. Gabriel wondered idly what it would be today. Maybe Cas would be sucked into a freak tornado? Or a crazy gunman? Or anthrax poisoning? Or maybe it would be something simple and mundane, like slipping on a wet floor and cracking his head open, or tripping down stairs. He was too distracted by the morbid thoughts to dodge the woman, who shoulder-slammed into him hard enough to knock him off his feet.

 

   “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!”

 

   She picked him up off the concrete, but as she was apologising Cas caught her arm and gestured for the first time in a hundred and ten Tuesdays to what she was carrying. “Who’s that on the poster?”

 

   With a little interrogation, they discovered that she was Hassleback’s daughter. While Gabriel started to get into the details with her, the dog chained to the lamppost nearby began to bark and Cas wandered over. Before Gabriel knew it-

 

.o0o.

 

_‘Heeeat of the moment!’_

  

   For the first time in a hundred and eleven days, Gabriel didn’t mind waking up. He was back on the case.

 

………

 

   “So, according to the police report Hassleback’s a professor, but that’s not all.” Castiel was watching him over his breakfast with a bemused look on his face like it was the first time he had ever seen him researching, which was actually quite insulting.

 

   “I talked to his daughter. The guy’s quite the journalist, columns in a newspaper, a blog, the whole deal.” Mr. Winchester got up from the bar and walked out, folding his newspaper on the way. Cas hummed around a mouthful of bacon.

 

   “He writes about tourist attractions; mystery spots, UFO crash sites, biggest balls of twine…” Gabriel scrolled through the articles. “This guy gets his jollies debunking them, tries to put them out of business. Here, look.”

 

   Cas squinted at the screen over his coffee. “’Dexter Hassleback, truth warrior’? Sounds more like a pompous assbutt to me.” He said roughly.

 

   Gabriel pulled the laptop back around with a snort. “Yeah, tell me about it. I’ve read everything the guy’s ever written, you probably couldn’t fit in a room with his ego.”

 

   Cas was looking what might have been impressed. “When did you do all of this research?”

 

   Gabriel brushed him off by asking for the bill. As they stood to leave, Cas chuckled quietly to himself.

 

   “What’s got you so happy this morning?”

 

   Cas smiled. “Well, it’s just that it’s kind of poetic. The guy spends his whole career debunking mystery spots, and then vanishes at one. Sort of a fitting punishment, don’t you think?”

 

   Gabriel laughed. “Yeah, just desserts.”

 

   He was about to follow Cas when his eyes snagged on the counter where Mr. Winchester had been sitting. He stopped, astonished.

 

   Cas turned back to him. “What’s wrong?”

 

   Gabriel pointed to the half-eaten plate like it was exhibit A in a murder investigation. “That guy has a Caesar salad for the last hundred and twenty days and now he’s having grilled chicken?” Just desserts. Fatal sense of humour. Reality altering powers. They’d dealt with one of these things before.

 

   Cas was looking at him with concern. “The man can have whatever he wants, Gabriel. Not all of us are actively trying to get diabetes.”

 

   Gabriel shook his head. “Not today. Not here. Nothing ever changes, ever, except me.”

 

.o0o.

 

   ‘ _Heeeat of the moment!’_

   Gabriel sat up in shock. Cas hadn’t died, so why had the day reset?

 

   He smiled grimly to himself. The trickster must have known he was onto it. He was finally back on the case.

 

   “Rise and shine, Cassie! Big day today!”

 

………

 

   He wasn’t imagining, it, Mr. Winchester was definitely side-eyeing him while he ate his salad. He was already fantasising about ramming a stake through the bastard’s rumpled suit jacket.

 

   “What were you saying about a time loop, again?” Cas asked with a mouthful of bacon pancakes.

 

   “Shut up and eat your breakfast.” Gabriel kept his eyes fastened to the man at the bar. He might have looked normal, a typical middle-aged guy with a bad suit and a harried expression as he shovelled his breakfast, but Gabriel knew what lived behind that mask.

 

   The guy got up and Gabriel rose as well, picking up the paper bag from the seat next to him as he went.

 

   “Gabriel! At least let me finish my coffee!” He ignored his brother’s complaining and hurried out the door. For a second he thought that he had lost him, no, couldn’t let him get away, he had waited for so long! But no, there he was disappearing around the corner into an alleyway. Perfect.

 

   He caught up with the guy easily and slammed him against the fence, chain link clinking as Gabriel pressed his weight into him and jammed the tip of the stake up under his throat.

 

   “Hey!” The guy yelped as Cas came up behind them, looking confused and disapproving. “Please, stop!”

 

   “I know who you are,” Gabriel snarled into his face, “Or should I say what?”

 

   The man whimpered piteously. “Oh god, please don’t kill me!”

 

   “Uh, Gabriel?” Cas was looking concerned now, like he might drag Gabriel off the guy, but Gabriel had put up with too much of this shit.

 

   “Give up the ghost, dickbag. You might as well drop the act. It took me a long fucking time, but I got it eventually. Your MO gave you away. Killing pompous pricks? Just desserts? We’ve run into something like you before. And all that shit you’ve been pulling? You’d have to be pretty powerful, almost like a god. You’re a trickster.”

 

   “Please!” The guy was squirming under the tip of the stake. “My name’s Ed Winchester, I’ve got a wife and two kids! I sell ad space!”

 

   “Don’t lie to me!” Gabriel roared, shaking the man, making the fence shake and rattle. “I know what you are! We’ve killed one of your kind before!” Never mind that he was pretty sure that they hadn’t managed to actually kill him, but the effort counted, right?

 

   The panic dropped off the man’s face and was a blink of stillness where Gabriel felt a kind of giddy joy. Yes! This was it, he had the bastard now!

 

   Then the man under his grip shifted in a second, grew until he was towering over Gabriel. The years slid off his face and his hair lengthened and turned from silver-grey to sleek brown strands curling over his ears and at the nape of his neck. Gabriel looked up in horror into those familiar multihued eyes.

 

   “You,” He whispered. Something like betrayal welled up inside him, but he stomped it down. He should have known. This thing was a monster.

 

   Sam half smiled, but there was no humour in it. “Not dead, sorry.”

 

   Gabriel jammed the stake harder into the soft flesh of his throat. “Why? Why are you doing this?” he demanded trough gritted teeth.

 

   “Well, you guys did try to kill me last time. Thought I’d return the favour.” That was a lie, Gabriel could see it in his eyes. He had liked them last time, had let them get away, he had even repaired some of what his tricks had broken. Why was he trying to kill them?

 

   “What about Hasselback?” Cas inquired.

 

   Sam smirked through thin lips. “That idiot? He was getting his kicks ruining other people’s lives. He’ll turn up sooner or later on the other side of the wormhole. No one will ever believe him if he tries to tell the truth, so it’s perfect! Then after I dealt with him, you guys showed up. I felt it the second you hit town, couldn’t resist coming over to say hi.”

 

   “Only you didn’t,” Gabriel snarled. “You didn’t for a hundred and twenty freakin’ days! So what, you get your jollies from killing Cas, is that it? This is what counts as fun for you, _kiddo_?” the nickname tasted bitter in his mouth.

 

   “Not particularly. It was never about him. This was always about you, Gabriel.” Sam looked at him like he was supposed to get it now, like this was meant to be a big moment of revelation. All Gabriel felt was bubbling anger.

 

   “You son of a bitch.”

 

   “How long will it take you to realise that you can’t save your brother, no matter how hard you try? Stop fighting, Gabriel. It’s inevitable. You need to let him go.” There was something in Sam’s tone that sounded like a very good mimic of sympathy.

 

   “Oh yeah? Well if I kill you, this all ends now!” Gabriel drew back the stake to ram it up into Sam’s skull and Sam tensed.

 

   “Woah! Okay, okay.” Sam held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Okay. Look. If you can’t learn the lesson, fine. I’ll let you go. Tomorrow, when you wake up, it’ll be Wednesday. Promise.”

 

   “You’re lying.”

 

   “If I am, you know where to find me. I’ll be right there in the diner.” Sam’s eyes looked into his, wide and truthful, but he had been taken in by that before. He had almost slept with the guy, damn it. That just made it personal.

 

   “Easier if I just kill you now.”

 

   The thing that had been called Sam shook his head. “Sorry. Can’t have that.” There was a snap of fingers, and-

 

.o0o.

 

   No Asia. No Asia!

 

   Gabriel sat straight up in bed and stared at the digital alarm on the bedside table in wonder.

 

   “It’s Wednesday!”

 

   Cas peeked out at him grumpily. “Well, that is the day that usually comes after Tuesday. Oof,” Gabriel seized him in a constricting hug

 

   “Isn’t it the most beautiful morning you’ve ever seen?”

 

   “No,” Cas grumbled, slightly muffled against Gabriel’s chest.

 

   “Wait, what do you remember?” Gabriel grabbed Cas’ shoulders and held him at arm’s length.

 

   “Well, you were behaving very strangely yesterday morning. Then we caught the trickster, and he was talking about a time loop, and then there’s this morning and you’re acting even more strangely.”

 

   Gabriel released him and waved him off. “Never mind about that now. Pack your stuff, we’ve gotta get out of here.”

 

   Cas frowned. “What about the trickster? Aren’t we going to stop him?”

 

   “Nope, we’re gonna hit the road.” If Gabriel never saw the guy’s face again, it would be too soon.

 

   “No breakfast?” Cas whined.

 

   “No. breakfast. Suck it up, little bro.”

 

………

 

   His giddy happiness over the fact that it wasn’t Tuesday began to wear off after a while, and Gabriel frowned as Cas left the room to start packing the trunk. He started shoving clothes into the other duffel to distract himself, but his doubts kept sneaking in.

 

   This felt too easy. There had to be a catch. He remembered the look in the trickster’s eyes just before he had snapped them into Wednesday, that uncomfortable laser focus and not nearly enough fear for the stake pressed against his jugular. From what he had seen with the other victims, the trickster wasn’t one to just let people go if they hadn’t learnt a lesson. He had let them go that first time, but that was when he hadn’t been trying to teach them anything. Maybe Sam just didn’t like collateral damage.

 

   He shook his head and tried to shrug it off. He must be getting paranoid in his old age. 

 

   The unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang out from the parking lot.

 

   For half a second Gabriel froze. No. it couldn’t be.

 

   Then he was running down the stairs, falling to his knees beside where Cas was lying, the red puddle spreading beneath him.

 

   “No,” He whispered, pulling Cas’ head into his lap, but it was too late, he could see that there was nothing left, he was gone. “You can’t go now! We just got out! Don’t leave me. Please…” He could feel tears dripping down his face like he hadn’t bothered to shed for almost a hundred days, soaking into Cas’ shirt. He tilted his head up to the sky and screamed. “Take us back! Why isn’t it resetting, you bastard? Why…”

 

   He cried until he was empty and his eyes were red and sore, clutching Cas’ cooling body close. Once the tears stopped he stood, fists clenched, and started packing. He had a trickster to kill.

 

.o0o.

 

   The next six months were one long, grim blur of cases and searching. Gabriel never stopped. If he stopped, he might not get up again.

 

   He scoured the internet for references, sightings, pictures of the trickster. He showed up everywhere from Facebook photos of college parties, to police reports, to job applications, to illustrations in historical texts. There was one particularly memorable picture, a portrait of him in the court of King Henry VII in 1490. There he was, looking not a day younger than when he had met them at Crawford hall despite the archaic clothing, and the raging hatred that bubbled up in him whenever he saw that beautiful face was still soured by the betrayal and disappointment. Which was ridiculous, because you couldn’t have betrayal without trust that had been broken, and there had never been any trust between them.

 

   Gabriel searched the lore as well of course, looking for information and weaknesses. There were more illustrations, woodcuts and ancient scrolls, often looking nothing like him but sometimes there he was, hair down his back in a long, thick braid. A tiny, immediately violently squashed part of Gabriel thought that damn, Sam could really pull off that long fur trimmed dark green cloak back in the day.

 

   He was focused, going through the motions, anger carrying him on and filling the hole in his heart where his brother had been. Occasionally he saw fear in people’s eyes as he paid for groceries or gas and wondered what they saw in his face. That night he looked into the mirror and didn’t recognise the grim man staring back at him with darkness in his eyes. He shuddered and turned away. If he had to turn himself into this to get the last dregs of his family back, then he would do it.

 

………

 

   Sam ran a frustrated hand through his hair and let out a long breath. It was no use. He would have to bring this to a head, or they were going to be here forever. He had no desire to turn this into any more of a torture than it had already become.

 

   He snapped and summoned a duplicate of the older hunter who had been with the brothers the first time he met them, and sent a message to Gabriel’s phone telling him that they had found the trickster. There. No going back now.

 

   Gabriel wasn’t going to stop without killing him, and it was frustrating. This whole thing was an exercise in frustration, of course, because trying to derail an apocalypse that your brothers had been planning for a century was never going to be easy. And he had underestimated Gabriel’s stubbornness. First, he had tried to teach the lesson gently, without removing his brother from the mix, but that had failed. Then he had changed tack, and killing Castiel permanently had just made the whole situation worse. Gabriel could never accept his brother’s death, never just move on with his own life. He was obsessing over the wrong things, and Sam couldn’t see a way to stop it.

 

   Sam wished to heaven that Gabriel would let go so that Sam could give him his brother back and let him be, but it never happened. It became more and more painful to hear Gabriel’s soul practically screaming all the time, but he made himself watch. If he was going to do this, he would take the consequences.

 

   He had watched in horror after the apparently permanent death of Castiel as Gabriel’s soul faded and darkened, twisting in on itself against the world. It wasn’t meant to do that! He had been trying to help! He _liked_ Gabriel’s soul, liked Gabriel himself more than he had liked any human for millennia. He admired him, with his love for his brother and his irreverence and his sense of humour, and under all of that his deep care for humanity. This was never meant to be about torture, just a lesson. Why did Sam always ruin everything?

 

   And then, as the final straw, he had noticed with horror after a few months of watching and waiting that there was a Bond growing between them. A true Bond, reserved only for guardians and their charges, which was the farthest thing from what was happening between them. Sam was torturing him, for fuck’s sake! He could feel Gabriel through it, feel his soul suffering and pulling against his Grace, and it made it all the more unbearable.

 

   Sam had even tried to fight the Bond, that reminder that he was still a creature of heaven, to stomp on it and pull it out by the roots, but it was too deep in both of them. It wouldn’t be removed without destroying them both, and Sam had given up.

 

   And now, finally, he had given in. He couldn’t watch that bright soul blacken with pain any longer, he had to act.

 

   So it was almost a relief when he heard the rumble of the car pulling up outside. Sam created a chalk circle with nonsense symbols and an open lore book, and the Joshua double knelt in front of it.

 

   Sam heard the quiet footsteps and measured breathing as Gabriel walked through the dusty rooms and hid himself before Gabriel walked in. Sam winced in guilt when he saw the state of Gabriel’s familiar soul. He had done that. He could only hope that he wasn’t too late.

  

   The Joshua mimic turned and got up, engulfing Gabriel in a slightly bony hug before holding him at arm’s length and looking him up and down.

  

   “Good to see you, boy.”

 

   Gabriel didn’t reply, looking around at the summoning equipment with dark, blank eyes. “What are we doing here.”

 

   “This is the last place the trickster performed his magic. I found a summoning ritual, we can bring him right here. You want to catch the thing, don’t you?”

 

   Gabriel nodded slowly. “What do we need?”

 

   “Blood. Lots of blood. Ritual says near a gallon. And it’s gotta be fresh, and all from one person.”

 

   Gabriel looked up at Joshua with a raised eyebrow. “Meaning we have to bleed someone dry.”

 

   Sam made sure to insert the right amount of disgust into Joshua’s tone. “And it’s gotta be tonight, or not for another fifty years. Typical pagan bullshit.”

 

   Gabriel didn’t even pause. “Then let’s go get some.”

 

   Sam stared at the once bright soul with horrified sadness. What had he done? “You break my heart, boy,” He spoke through the construct’s mouth.

 

   Gabriel turned back to him. “What?”

 

   “I’m not going to let you murder an innocent man.”

 

   “Then why did you bring me here.”

 

   “Because it was the only way you’d see me.” And the only way that he would actually listen without staking him. “Because I’m trying to knock some sense into you. Because I thought that you’d back down from killing a man!”

 

   “Or a woman. I’m an equal opportunity slaughterer. And you were wrong.” Gabriel turned away. “Leave the stuff, I’ll do it myself.”

 

   Sam stepped the replica forwards and it grabbed Gabriel’s arm. “I told, you, I’m not gonna let you kill someone.”

 

   “It’s none of your damn business what I do!” Gabriel roared suddenly. They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, breathing heavily. Sam chewed his lip. This was it.

 

   “You want your brother back so bad?” Sam had the replica pull a knife from the bag by his feet and hand it over. “Fine.”

 

   Gabriel looked confused for a moment. “What are you talking about?”

 

   “Better me than some civilian.”

 

   Gabriel glanced down at the blade glinting silver in the low light. “Josh, stop talking crazy, I’m not going to kill you.”

 

   Through Joshua, Sam snorted. “Oh, now _I’m_ the crazy one. Look, Gabe,” he goaded, “I’m old. I’m coming to the end of my trail. But you, you and your brother, you can keep fighting, saving people. Let me give him back to you.”

 

   “Josh-”

 

   Sam interrupted him. “You boys are the closest thing I have to family, now. I want to do this for you.” He said through Joshua’s lips.

 

   Gabriel hesitated again, then nodded. “Okay.”

 

   Sam nodded back at him and the replica knelt down with its back to Gabriel, even though his heart was breaking. “Just make it quick.” _It wasn’t meant to be like this, how did it come to this, he had to correct it, had to make him understand…_

 

“Okay, but you wanna know why?” Gabriel said, reaching into his jacket, and Sam knew right then that he was rumbled. Through the frustration, he felt a flash of pride; the kid had figured it out.

 

   Gabriel stepped forward and shoved the stake through the replica’s ribcage. “Because you’re not Josh,” He growled in its ear as the false life faded out of it. Gabriel dropped it and stood up but Sam kept up the pretence for a second, let the body flop forwards limply to the floor.

 

   After a second where Joshua’s body didn’t fade worry began to appear on Gabriel’s face. “Josh?” He said quietly. Then louder, “Josh!” The panic was really starting to set in now. Gabriel’s soul _shrieked_.

 

   Sam couldn’t pretend anymore. The body flickered and shimmered out of existence like a mirage, and he reached out with his grace and pulled the stake towards himself. It hit his palm with a smack just as Gabriel followed its trajectory and turned to see him standing by the door.

 

   Sam tried to mimic a smile, but he knew he wasn’t succeeding.

 

   “Hi there, Gabriel. That was a good one. Smart. Almost smart enough to catch me out. Can’t trick a trickster, though.”

 

   “You fucker.” All of the blankness had disappeared from Gabriel’s face and had given way to simmering rage and hopeless grief, his eyes tawny and wild and feral like a cornered lion. It looked like neither of them were able to keep their masks on today.

 

   “Why?” Gabriel demanded, his voice cracking on the syllable, “Why are you doing this? Bring him back.”

 

   “Castiel? Castiel’s gone. He’s dead. I can’t bring him back,” Sam lied.

 

   “Yes you can, I know you can,” Gabriel growled desperately, and Sam thought that the people who thought that Castiel was the more dangerous one were wrong. Gabriel might laugh and joke, but under that sarcastic façade the molten steel showing in his eyes now said that underestimating him would be fatal.

 

   “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

 

   “Please,” Gabriel was begging now, his soul screaming, and Sam’s Grace felt like it was cracking in two, “Please, just bring him back, take us back to that Tuesday, or the Wednesday when it all started, just, please,” Gabriel’s eyes were wet and desperate now, he looked about five seconds for breaking down, his breath coming in ragged heaves, and Sam was wavering.

 

   “Even if I can, I shouldn’t. Gabriel, there’s a lesson here. You need to learn it.”

 

   “What lesson?”

 

   “This obsession? With saving Castiel? Nothing good comes out of it. Nothing but blood, and pain. It’s going to kill you. Worse, it’s going to kill everyone around you. Family’s your weakness. The bad guys know it, too.” The memories of losing Dean bubbled up from where he had repressed them like caustic lava. He remembered how it had felt just like what Gabriel was feeling now when the other angels pulled them apart, saw the echo in Gabriel’s eyes of his own first terrible years alone. All those bad decisions. Joining the pagans just to fill the hole his brother left. He couldn’t let that happen to Gabriel without warning him. “You’ve got to let him go. It’s gonna be the death of you, Gabriel.”

 

   “He’s my brother. I can’t just let him go.”

 

   “You’ve got to. Like it or not, this is gonna be what it’s like when he’s gone.”

 

   Gabriel’s voice cracked on a mirthless laugh. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience there.”

 

   For a fraction of a second, Sam froze before forcing his facial muscles relaxed again. How could he know? Dad-damn human intuition. He just hoped that Gabriel hadn’t caught his slip.

 

   Luckily it looked like he wasn’t going to try to interrogate in favour of begging for his brother. “Please. Just… please.” Gabriel actually looked broken now, his soul writhing in horrible shuddering gasping motions like a dying animal, and Sam finally gave in. If only Dean could see him now, he had finally found someone who could out-stubborn him. He’d probably be laughing, the jerk.

 

   Sam dropped his shoulders in defeat and frustration and sighed deeply. No way was Gabriel ever going to learn this particular lesson. Sam knew when he was beaten. “Okay. Fine. You win. I’ll put you back. But I can’t stop it, Gabriel. You can’t stop it. Remember that when the time comes. Good luck.”

 

   Sam couldn’t stay and watch any more. With a snap, he sent Gabriel back to Wednesday, and he was gone.

 


	4. No Rest For Anyone, Never Mind the Wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of No rest for the wicked, so obviously a warning for gore. And also angst. Like, a lot of angst.

   Not even the legendary stubbornness of the Shurley brothers could stop the deal in the end. Cas’ trembling fingers dug desperately into Gabriel’s back as they embraced for the last time, clenching at the inaudible barking of the hellhounds waiting outside. The clock chimed midnight, every ring sounding like doom to Gabriel’s ears.

 

   Suddenly, Cas went rigid against him and they drew apart. Cas was carefully still as he stared sideways in terror at something in the corner of the room that Gabriel couldn’t see.

 

   “Hellhound?” Gabriel asked quietly.

 

   “Yes,” Cas responded, his voice shaking ever so slightly. “Right over there.”

 

   Their eyes met for a second, and then they ran, making it to the living room where they found Kali, the demon who said that she was trying to help them. She looked up from her pacing with a start as they rushed in, then ran over to help Gabriel hold the doors while Cas frantically shook a line of goofer dust onto the floor to keep the hounds out. As soon as he was done he glanced wildly around, then lurched towards the window and ran a shaky line of powder across the sill.

 

   Kali turned to Gabriel, holding out her hand. “Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off.”

 

   “What?”

 

   Kali beckoned impatiently. “Come on! That dust won’t last forever!”

 

   “Wait!” Cas said from behind Gabriel. He had finished with the window and was staring at Kali in horror. “Gabriel, that’s not Kali!”

 

   Gabriel’s stomach dropped as he realised their mistake and he spun, raising the knife to stab her, but he was too late. Lilith raised her hand and Cas was tossed to the floor. She slammed Gabriel against the wall with a backhanded gesture and blinked languidly at him with dead milky-white eyes, so different from their usual gleaming black, a smirk curling her mouth that could never have belonged to Kali.

 

   “How long have you been inside her?” Cas gasped from the floor, unable to even raise his head.

 

   “Oh, not long.” Lilith inspected her new body and Gabriel’s skin crawled like it might leave the rest of him behind to get away from her.

 

   “What about Kali?” He demanded.

 

   Lilith looked up at him, the cobwebs clearing from her eyes but the malice in them remained. “She was a bad girl. A very bad girl. Trying to keep me from what’s mine. So I sent her far, far away.” She stepped closer and inspected him with a ghoulish smile, like he was an interesting insect she had pinned to a board, and Gabriel felt his bile rise as he fought the urge to spit in her face. “Hello there, Gabriel. I’ve been wanting to meet you for a very long time.”

 

   She pressed in close and grabbed his chin, forcing her lips against his as he struggled in revulsion. She tasted of death and ash, bitter and sulphuric and he gagged. Finally, she released him with a smirk as he turned his head to spit on the floor, breathing heavily.

 

   “Alright, you’ve got me, you’ve had your fun. Point proven. Now let my brother go.”

 

   Lilith tilted her head at him condescendingly. “But I never wanted you! Tsk tsk tsk. Gabriel, I thought you knew the rules of bargaining? First, you’ve got to have something I want. Which you don’t.” She ran a long fingernail down his neck and he shuddered in revulsion.

 

   She stepped back from him abruptly and walked over to the door. She grinned down at Cas. “Any last words, puppy chow?”

 

   Cas glared back at her with defiant eyes. “Go to hell.” Over his terror Gabriel felt a flash of pride; his Cas, stoic until the end.

 

   Lilith’s smile broadened. “Oh, no. That’s where you’re going.” She swung the door open. “Sic ‘em, boy!”

 

   “NO! Stop!” Gabriel shouted, fighting against his invisible bonds, but he was helpless as Cas’ eyes widened in horror, as long gashes rent apart his clothes and skin and muscle. Cas screamed and Gabriel howled in anguish as invisible teeth sank into Cas’ shoulder, tearing out chunks of flesh and the blood was everywhere, soaking his clothes crimson and dripping onto the floor.

 

   “Stop it!” Gabriel wanted to turn away, wanted to cover his ears but he couldn’t. Cas tried to crawl away, his mangled leg dragging behind him, but the unseen force yanked him back, flipping him over and tearing into his chest, blood spilling over in a gush of frothing scarlet. “Stop, no!” Gabriel screamed at Lilith, but she paid him no attention, too enthralled by the bloodbath before her. Cas’ cries died to gurgles over the sound of Lilith’s savage laughter as blood filled his mouth and dripped down his chin.

 

   “No,” Gabriel moaned, still struggling weakly.

 

   “Yes,” Lilith hissed in triumphant, savage glee. She turned back to Gabriel, but Gabriel couldn’t take his eyes off Cas, in a pool of scarlet on the floor, glazed blue eyes gazing blankly and unseeingly upwards.

 

   Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lilith raising her hand towards him, and then a blinding-bright glow emanated from her palm. The force keeping him against the wall was gone, and Gabriel staggered back into a corner, trying to shield his eyes. He felt the heat beating against him, tugging at him, trying to find a way in, but the burning light bounced off him like he was wearing a foil jacket.

 

   When the light finally died he blinked a few times, confused. He wasn’t dead. Why wasn’t he dead? The smug look on Lilith’s face was gone, and confusion and a tiny trace of fear were in her clouded eyes.

 

   Gabriel levered himself to his feet, snatching up the knife as he went. Lilith stepped back.

 

   “No! Stay back,” She hissed, holding up her hand as if to ward him off, but the words passed through him harmlessly. For whatever reason, she couldn’t hurt him.

 

   He stepped forwards, fear and confusion giving way to hot, burning, terrible anger.

 

   “Stay back!” She said louder, but he advanced on her, knife held high. He was going to make her pay. He would have justice for his brother’s death.

 

   Just before he got to her Lilith opened her mouth and tilted back her head, then erupted in a screaming, roaring pillar of smoke. The body slumped boneless to the floor.

 

   Gabriel let his hand drop, the knife hanging uselessly at his side as he looked around at the carnage in the room. The dead vessel of the girl was lying to the side, the furniture overturned and battered as though a tornado had swept through, but framed in the eye of the storm Cas was lying splayed on his back, the blood still congealing on his chest.

 

   Gabriel dropped to his knees beside him and gathered him into his lap, shaking his body with his heaving, ugly sobs. With a trembling hand he wiped Cas’ unruly hair back from his face and looked into his eyes, still wide open and pleading in death. The hundred practice runs that the trickster had made him do hadn’t made this any easier. Cas was gone.

 

   “No,” He choked out through his tears, “Please. Cas.” He hugged his brother closer, and let himself grieve.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick one today, I'll probably post another chapter tomorrow!


	5. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

   Gabriel may or may not have been drunk. Very drunk. Window-smashingly, cupboard-pissingly drunk. But that was at least better than constantly recalling the terror in his brother’s eyes as the hellhounds closed in, or Lilith’s blood drenched smirk stretched across a little girl’s face. He shuddered and took another large gulp.

 

   He had tried everything to get Cas back before he had buried the body, unable to bring himself to burn it. Literally everything. Spells, summonings, he’d called the damn trickster but he hadn’t shown, he’d even tried to make a crossroads deal in the end. Nothing worked.

 

   He stared morosely down at the whiskey. It was better that no one else had to put up with him when he was like this, especially Joshua. He shouldn’t have to clean up Gabriel’s messes. Gabriel was useless right now. Was useless before actually. Couldn’t save Cas. Couldn’t save anybody.

 

   When even demons didn’t want to trade for your soul, you knew you were well and truly broken and worthless.

 

   He took another swig straight from the whisky bottle then stood up from the rough wooden table, then gripping the side of it tightly as the main room of the remote cabin where he was squatting seemed to sway.

 

   Gabriel sighed and decided that maybe he should go to bed before he fell unconscious and choked to death on his own vomit. That would be a suitably humiliating way to go. He eyed up the door to the bedroom, debating whether it was worth it or if he should just crash on the couch. But the bedroom was closer to the toilet.

 

   He didn’t see the trickster arrive, too distracted by his own internal debate, but when he looked up again, there Sam was, hunched over his knees on the tiny couch that was too short for his gargantuan legs. Gabriel swayed slightly, frowning at him. No, he couldn’t really be here. If the trickster was really here, Gabriel would be in some kind of horrifying scenario right now involving Cas dying repeatedly in a revolving door. Which meant this was either a whisky induced hallucination, or a dream. Maybe he had passed out on the floor already and this was a karmic nightmare for overindulging in the grownup juice.

 

   Either way, that made up his internal debate. Bedroom it was if there were already manifestations of his failures sitting on the couch.

 

   “Yurr not real,” He slurred at the figment of his imagination. And it definitely wasn’t real, because there was no way that the real thing would look at him with its expressive face filled with sorrow and sympathy.

 

  “I don’ need your pity, go ‘way,” He told it, flapping his hand in its general direction. He started deliberately towards the bedroom like he was navigating the deck of a pitching ship caught in a hurricane. The trickster sighed and got up, walking over and putting an arm around his shoulders. Gabriel was too tired to fight it and couldn’t help but lean heavily on him as he was guided into the bedroom and collapsed onto the sagging mattress.

 

   The thing that looked like Sam stared down at him despairingly, as though Gabriel was the symbol of all of _his_ failings rather than the other way round.

 

   “I’m sorry I can’t help,” It said to him woefully. “I can’t tell you why, either. But I’m going to try. Just let him go, Gabe. Please.”

 

   Gabriel scowled at him furiously. “Never! You always say that, always tellin’ me to let Cas go, an’ now he’s gone!” He stared at it morosely. “Used to like you, back when we first met. You were kind of cool. But now you’re just a…” He searched for an appropriate insult, “… a big bag of dicks. Don’t want your help anyway. You never help, just make things worse. Wish you knew how it felt. Bet you’ve never lost a brother.”

 

   The flash of agony that crossed its face was there just long enough for Gabriel to feel a little guilty and wonder if that had been too far below the belt, but then the expression vanished, quickly hidden. The Sam-thing looked frustrated now, angry and frustrated. “It’s the world, Gabriel! You’re going to destroy the world for one human being!”

 

   Gabriel rolled over so that his back was to the apparition. “Don’ care. He’s worth it. Fuck off.”

 

   “You’re never going to learn, are you? It’s like talking to a brick wall. Guess I’ll just leave you to it, then.”

 

   Gabriel heard another angry huff from behind him, then he could have sworn that he felt a breath of air, but when he turned around the vision was gone. Good riddance, he thought bitterly as sleep claimed him, ignoring the small flicker of disappointment the trickster hadn’t actually been there. He must be really desperate for company if he wanted to talk about his feelings to monsters.

 

 

   The next morning, Gabriel woke with a groan and a dry mouth that tasted like he had been licking soggy bar mats all evening, but the memory of most of the night was lost in an alcoholic haze. Maybe that was just as well, he thought to himself. All that was left were the unnerving echoes of sorrow and lingering regret, so he was pretty sure that he wasn’t missing much. But he did wonder why his hangover wasn’t as bad as it should have been from drinking a whole bottle of whiskey to himself. And why there now appeared to be vegetables in his cool box instead of yesterday’s take out.

 

.o0o.

 

   Kali showed up again two weeks later.

 

   This time her vessel was a petite Indian woman who she insisted that she had found long since brain dead in a coma ward, but the aura of power and slight disdain that she carried with her hadn’t changed.

 

   Gabriel was still wary of her, of course. She was a demon, and he had been hunting one of them since he was four years old. At this point, paranoia was a given.

 

   But then she saved his life. It was mostly due to his own stupidity, no hunter could take on a coven of five witches single handed, but just as they were tying him to the altar she swooped in. Her blade flashed as she cut them down, deadly and graceful in a flurry of red fabric and spattered blood. She wasn’t even breathing hard as she stopped at the foot of the altar, wiped her blade clean on one of the witch’s shirts, and offered him a hand up.

 

   “Why did you do that?” He asked her warily.

 

   She shrugged, acting nonchalant as she used her sleeve to wipe the blood off her face. “Maybe you’re worth just slightly more than the average meat sack. I guess we’ll find out.”

 

   After that, she started tagging along more and more, and soon he was hunting more efficiently, saving more people. He grudgingly admitted to himself that he had needed the help. Hunting alone never went well.

 

   It wasn’t long before they fell into bed with each other, working off the adrenaline of a hunt gone well. Maybe it was part of the appeal that Kali was so distant, that he had to work for her affections. Somehow, he had earnt the demon’s elusive respect and trust, and with Cas in hell and their father long dead, there was no one left to give him a tongue lashing. It was a heady thing, to have someone else look at you and see potential, and he knew that it wasn’t love in any sense of the word but he thought he understood how Kali worked. They both had the same goals; she was using him to kill Lilith, and he was doing exactly the same thing. They might as well have some fun while they were at it. Just as long as they were both manipulative bastards for the same reasons, they were good.

 

   Even then Gabriel was pretty sure that he would have refused the demon blood the first time, if he had been given a choice. One minute they were getting down and dirty, the next there was a bleeding forearm pressed against his mouth and he’d swallowed reflexively before the taste registered. He jumped off her, wiping his lips and grimacing in disgust.

 

   “What the fuck, Kali?” He yelled, spitting on the floor.

 

   She inspected her fingernails with bored unconcern through the following rant, then when he finally ran out of steam she gently took him by the arm. They teleported right in front of a confused looking demon in a devil’s trap (he realised later that she must have staked it out earlier), and taught him how to use his new abilities.

 

   The pain and pressure in his skull built as he clenched his fist, but he kept going. The demon writhed, dark smoke pouring from its lips as it sank to its knees and burnt a circle of brimstone into the concrete.

 

   “I killed it,” Gabriel stood staring, confused and astonished. He wiped a trickle of blood from under his nose, the red a startling contrast against his skin. “I actually killed it!”

 

   Kali turned and started to walk away. “Just you wait, that was barely a foot soldier. We’ve got a long way to go, but you’ll be tackling the big boys before you know it. Good effort.” Gabriel couldn’t help preening a little at the praise.

 

   Suddenly the body of the floor stirred, raising her head and blinking blearily. “Where am I? What’s going on?”

 

   Gabriel gaped for a second, then quickly knelt to help her up and looked her over to check for wounds. She was fine, confused and frightened and unlikely to go anywhere near smoking bonfires or sulphurous volcanoes for the rest of her life, but she was physically okay. The vessel was still alive! He could kill the demon _and_ save the vessel, no one else would have to die like that! Suddenly, drinking a little blood didn’t seem so bad.

 

   He was still pissed, but he didn’t blame Kali. She was devious, but that was just how she worked. She was a demon, after all. And if it meant that he could save more people at the same time, he was all for it.

 


	6. Touched by an Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of Lazarus Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Miniatures for all the lovely comments! It's such a big motivation to keep writing, so seriously, thanks.
> 
>  
> 
> .

   Gabriel couldn’t believe it. He had finally lost his marbles, his sanity was taking a dirt nap, someone call the men in white coats. Because no way was his brother standing outside his door.

 

   Then he was angry, no wait, he was furious. Who was the assbag who was riding in his brother’s skin, because he wanted to know before he peeled it back off them again!

 

   Gabriel rushed forwards with a snarl on his face, pulling his knife from his belt to stab the imposter, but before he could reach him Josh grabbed him and pinned him against the wall with a bony arm across his chest. Gabriel writhed, desperate to get free, to kill that _thing_ wearing his brother’s face.

 

   “Gabe, stop, it’s him you idiot I checked!”

 

   Gabriel paused but didn’t put down the knife. “How?”

 

   “Like it wasn’t you who brought me back, Gabriel!” Cas was scowling at him. Gabriel hadn’t realised how much he had missed hearing his brother’s voice, but the deep rough chords had him staring. He turned to Joshua abruptly.

 

   “You’re sure? Positive?”

 

   Josh nodded, dropping his arm. “Salt, silver, devil’s traps and holy water. Came up clean as a whistle.”

 

   Gabriel turned back to Cas, who was staring at him almost pleadingly. “Gabriel, it’s really me.”

 

   Gabriel couldn’t doubt him while he was staring into deep, earnest blue eyes. He sagged and dropped his knife with a clatter, then ran forward and flung his arms around Cas’ neck, gripping tightly and burying his face in his shoulder to hide what was definitely not tears. But it was fine, because Cas was crying not-tears too. Even Josh was sniffing a little, so they were all just going to pretend that this never happened.

 

   After that manly reunion, of course, everything went to hell (and that was another phrase he wouldn’t be using as much in the future) because it turned out that neither Josh nor Cas had any idea what had hauled him from the pit. After confirming that Gabriel had not (despite his best efforts) made a deal, they started running through the other possibilities.

 

   Josh rolled the glass of whisky between his hands. “No demon’s letting you loose out of the goodness of their hearts, they’ve got something real nasty planned for you, mark my words. We’ve got a pile of questions and no shovel, we need a little help here. I know a psychic a few hours from here. Shit like this, the other side must be talkin’.”

 

   He gave them the address and they agreed to meet there. As they went to leave, Gabriel caught Cas’ arm.

 

   “What was it like? Hell, I mean.”

 

   Something dark flashed behind Cas’ eyes for a moment, but before he could judge what it was it was gone. “I don’t know. I can’t remember anything, but that is probably for the best.” Gabriel wasn’t sure if he believed him, but decided to let it slide. “Anyway, did anything big happen while I was gone?”

 

   Gabriel scratched his head. “Not unless you count the orgy I got invited to by a pair of twins, no.”

 

   Cas scrunched up his face in brotherly disgust. “I meant the demonic powers, Gabriel.”

 

   “Nope. Staying as far away from the freaky powers thing as I can get.” He felt a little guilty about lying to his brother, but it was necessary. Cas would freak out about it, and Gabriel needed to keep saving people. He held out the keys to the continental and Cas took them with a gleam in his eye.

 

   “Thank you for looking after her, Gabriel.”

 

   “Yeah, well, wait until you see the new pink leopard pattern upholstery. _OW_! I was kidding!” Gabriel was still rubbing his arm as they walked out into the parking lot. The look on Cas’ face when he saw the continental could only be described as rapturous. Evidently he hadn’t spotted the pink fuzzy dice yet. Joshua revved his engine impatiently.

 

   “Come on, Cas, you can drool over your car later. Now let’s get out of here before Josh starts griping about your old man driving.”

 

.o0o.

 

   They arrived behind Joshua at the house of the psychic that he had recommended. It was a surprise to both of them when the door swung open and Joshua was swept into a hug by a petite woman with wavy chestnut hair.

 

   “Josh! It’s been too long!”

 

   Joshua’s stern face was softened into a smile for once. “Good to see you too. Boys, this is Hannah, best damn psychic in the state.”

 

   She looked them over assessingly. “So, Castiel Shurley. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, I see.” Cas nodded hesitantly. “Well, you’d better come on in.”

 

   “So, did you hear anything?” Josh asked as they walked into a well-kept study.

 

   “Well, I ouija’d my way through a dozen spirits, nobody seems to know who broke Castiel out or why. There’s a surprising lack of omens in the area though, and nobody really seemed to want to talk to me about it. I wanted to give a séance a shot, if you’re okay with that.”

 

   Gabriel did a double take, “Wait, you’re not going to summon the thing _here_ are you?”

 

   Hannah looked at Gabriel like he was stupid. “Of course not, I’ll just get a quick look at what we’re dealing with.”

 

   Cas nodded. “Very well. That sounds good to me.”

 

   Hannah began to set up the room, throwing a cloth covered in a pentagram and various other symbols over the circular table in the middle, then drawing the blinds. The room was suddenly dark, and they had to blink for a few minutes to let their eyes adjust.

 

   Hannah lit the tall, thick candles in the centre of the pentagram and they all sat down. “Right, take each other’s hands.” They all put their elbows on the table and joined hands, looking up at her for the next instruction. “Now I need to touch something which has a connection to this mystery monster.” They all looked over at Cas, who hesitated.

 

   Slowly, Cas began to self-consciously roll to his shirt sleeve until it was over his shoulder. Gabriel’s breath caught. There, burnt into the meat of his shoulder muscle, was the angry red outline of a hand, its fingers curling up and over his deltoid as if to grip him tighter. Gabriel and Josh exchanged an alarmed glance.

 

   Gently, Hannah laid her much slimmer hand against the print, and when Cas didn’t flinch, closed her eyes and began to chant in a steady voice.

 

   “ _I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle._ ” She kept going, and after a while Gabriel wondered why nothing was happening. He cracked an eye open and looked around.

 

   Apart from the rhythmic chanting, there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary going on. He looked at the others, and saw looks of deep concentration on their faces, their eyes still closed. Oh. Well, nobody had told him that he had to concentrate too.

 

   He was about to shut his eye again when the television came on of its own accord, a thin layer of static under Hannah’s continued chanting. The table began to shake under them and Gabriel opened both his eyes wide in alarm. Suddenly Hannah broke off.

 

   “Diniel? No, sorry Diniel, I’m not afraid of you.”

 

   “Diniel?” Cas asked, eyes now open too.

 

   “That’s its name, it’s warning me, trying to tell me to turn back. _I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face_!”

 

   She kept going, and the table was rattling under them now, and it wasn’t until Gabriel saw some of the ornaments on the shelves begin to wobble that he realised with alarm that it wasn’t just the table shaking, it was the whole room. What the hell had Cas gotten himself involved with?

 

   “Maybe we should stop,” Josh suggested over the rattling of the glassware, and Gabriel thought that might be a good idea before Diniel or whatever it was showed up in person and decided to repaint the room in hint of brain.

 

   Hannah stopped chanting just long enough to answer, “No, I almost got it. _I command you, show me your face. Show me your face now!”_ Then the candles in the centre of the table erupted with a roar, the pillar of fire almost reaching the ceiling and obscuring Hannah from Gabriel’s sight. A second later he heard her begin to scream, wild and agonised before the candles went out. Hannah slumped in her seat, the pits where her eyes had been blackened and blood dripping slowly down her cheeks.

 

   They jumped up, “Call 911!” Josh shouted as he rushed to Hannah’s side. Gabriel hurried to get the phone, giving the operator the details over the sounds of sobbing behind him. Once he turned around, all he needed to see was Josh’s grim face to know that there was nothing to be done.

 

.o0o.

 

   It was several hours before they got any news. Gabriel sat up straighter as Cas walked back into the diner, phone still in hand. His shoulders were slumped in his trenchcoat as he slipped his hands into his pockets.

 

   “Any news from Josh?”

 

   “Yes, Hannah’s stable, they’ve just let her out of the ICU but they’re keeping her in overnight. And she’s permanently blind. It’s all my fault.” He sat heavily and put his head in his hands.

 

   Gabriel saw the guilty expression growing on Cas’ face and was determined to nip it in the bud. He leaned across the table towards him. “Look, it’s not your fault. We need to find out what that thing is, that’s what blinded her, not you.”

 

   Cas sighed and sat up, then stared into his cooling coffee thoughtfully. “Well, we have a name. Diniel.”

 

   Gabriel snorted, disbelieving. “What, you want to summon it? Are you nuts? You heard Hannah, not even the spirits want to talk about this thing, there are no omens in town, demons are scattering to the four winds to get away from it. We haven’t got a clue what it is, it was powerful enough to shake an entire house and burn Hannah’s eyes out of her skull with a sneak peek, and you want to invite it round to dinner?”

 

   “Of course not. We’ll have to take precautions, but I don’t see why we can’t get a better look at what we’re dealing with. Perhaps in a more remote location, just in case. Do you think barns will show up on maps?” He pulled out his laptop from his bag, obviously intent on Operation Insane Suicide.

 

   Gabriel shook his head, pushing his chair back onto two legs. “Nope. I’m not doing it. This is a terrible idea.”

 

.o0o.

 

   “This is still a terrible idea.” Gabriel grumbled as he sprayed another containment rune onto the barn wall.

 

   Cas ignored him as he put the finishing touches on the pentagram and started working on the ingredients for the summoning. He still seemed a little spooked, but from what he had said earlier Gabriel couldn’t blame him. He had only left the motel room for ten minutes to grab a can of coke, and when he came back Cas was kneeling on the floor, bolt-eyed and shaking, shards of shattered glass spread everywhere like a carpet of glittering diamonds. Apparently whatever it was had made another pass at him, and judging the blood running out of his right ear, it had gotten pretty close.

 

   So maybe it was just as well that they were summoning it, Gabriel mused as he grabbed another spray can, because it looked like it was only a matter of time before the damn thing found Cas on its own anyway. At least if they summoned it they could meet the son of a bitch on their own terms, preferably from behind a protective circle just before they riddled it with silver bullets and salt cartridges. If it was a demon, he thought privately that he could try to exorcise it like he had been practicing recently, because keeping Cas safe was a priority over not letting him know about the whole still-got-the-demonic-powers thing. If it got anywhere near Cas, he’d send it right back down to hell or just rip it straight to shreds of nasty black smoke, he thought with protective viciousness as he finished the last line.

 

   “Right, done,” he called and hopped down from the ladder he’d been using to get at the top of the walls, looking around at their handiwork. The barn was now almost entirely covered with runes and protective circles taken from a variety of religions all over the globe, a bench of weapons against everything they could think of along the back wall.

 

   Gabriel eyed up the weapons. “Stakes, machete, iron, salt, silver, the knife and good old-fashioned shotguns. That should cover it. Do I ever hope that we are over prepared, because otherwise this sucker is probably going to be pissed enough to open up an entire barrel full of whoop-ass when he sees the welcome mat we’ve set out.” He blew out a breath, trying to relax, but even all of their preparation didn’t stop him from being nervous about this whole dumb idea.

 

   “It will be enough to contain it, I’m sure,” Cas said in what was probably meant to be a calming tone while carefully measuring out thyme into the metal summoning bowl.

 

   “Well, look at you, all optimistic. Are you going to put some thyme on us too? Should we salt ourselves as well? Wouldn’t want to offer up the humans unseasoned.” Cas scowled at him and Gabriel waved him on impatiently. His heart was beating too hard and he was jittery with nerves, and he needed them to get this over with before the fear showed. “Oh, get on with it. Ring the dinner bell, the humans are ready to be served, with a side of half-baked plans. Let’s light this candle.”

 

   Cas rolled his eyes but started the incantation, knowing that the sarcasm was Gabriel’s coping mechanism for the stress. Gabriel was tense the entire way through, and by the time Cas dropped a match in the bowl and it lit with a tiny _whump_ , he was so fidgety that he might just stab whatever arrived simply out of reflex. They waited, the atmosphere alive with tension.

 

   Nothing happened.

 

   After ten minutes, Cas started to relax. Gabriel thought that was about as sensible as walking into a lion enclosure wearing a meat dress, but after fifteen more minutes even he was having a hard time keeping up the endless vigilance.

 

   Half an hour after that, Gabriel was sat on the floor by the table, idly cleaning under his nails with the pointed end of the demon killing knife, the dregs of adrenaline in his blood long since run cold. God, he was so bored. Cas grimaced at him from where he was sitting on the base of the ladder.

 

   “Gabriel, stop it. That’s a disgusting habit.”

 

   “Actually, I thought it was quite fitting,” Gabriel twirled the knife dexterously in his fingers, the blade flashing in the dim light. “This helps me remove all sorts of filth, both the black eyed kind and the under-fingernail variety.” Cas apparently didn’t want to dignify that with a response, and his face settled back into the disgruntled expression that he had been wearing for the last twenty minutes.

 

   “You know what this reminds me of?” Gabriel mused, throwing the knife from hand to hand. “That time you got stood up by your date in that restaurant.”

 

   Cas whipped his head up and yes, that was a full blown bitch face right there. “It is nothing like that! We’re hunting a monster, not having a romantic dinner with it, no matter how many food metaphors you’ve used this evening!”

 

   “No but think about it,” Gabriel continued, too entertained by Cas’ reaction to stop. He ticked the similarities off on his fingers. “You’ve put a lot of effort in. There was a lot of anticipation. And then no one turned up! Exactly the same!” Gabriel wished he had a camera on him to capture the look of absolute irritation on Cas’ face, but he settled for cackling with laughter instead, which made Cas look even more like a pissed off gargoyle perched on the bottom rung of the ladder.

 

   “That’s not funny, Gabriel.”

 

   Eventually Gabriel’s chuckles died away and he sighed. “Are you sure you did the ritual right?”

 

   Cas bristled at the suggestion. “Yes. Of course.”

 

   Gabriel held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. Touchy.”

 

   There was a faint moaning as the wind started to pick up outside, whistling around the nooks and crannies of the building.

 

   Cas frowned. “Was there any wind earlier?”

 

   Gabriel shrugged. “Don’t think so. Why?”

 

   Suddenly there was a loud bang from overhead, and both brothers tensed and leapt to their feet, looking around. Then another, and another.

 

   BANG. BANG. BA-BANG.

 

   The great sheets of corrugated iron on the roof lifted and slammed back down in the sudden hurricane winds sweeping around the building. It was an overwhelming display of supernatural strength, and Gabriel’s fears about their weapons and protective circles not being enough were suddenly very real in the front of his mind. He snatched up the biggest shotgun from the top of the pile next to him.

 

   “Well, Cassie, looks like someone turned up to your date after all,” Gabriel shouted over the roaring wind and the crashing of the roof over their heads, trying to ease the tension that had made a sudden return. “At least we know you’re popular.”

 

   Thunder rumbled in the distance, getting closer as the wind picked up. The bare bulbs overhead sparked and flickered, only adding to the confusion, and there was electricity in the air, the atmosphere so heavily charged that it might combust at any second and consume them all.

 

   The doors swing inwards dramatically with a rush of wind and there it was, a silhouette framed in the doorway. It started inside, tall, the body it was in unmistakably male, and as it walked under the wildly sparking lights Gabriel could make out its features as it strode casually forwards. There were flashes of a strong jaw, short pale brown hair, eyes side-lit by lightning for an instant into an unnatural shade of emerald-green.

 

   Gabriel started shooting as soon as the thing crossed the salt line without even slowing down. The sounds of the gunshots were swallowed by the wind, and although ragged holes appeared in the leather jacket, it just kept walking forwards with a kind of inevitable doom.

 

   Gabriel shot until he ran out of bullets then reached behind himself for his pistol, but the gun was gone. He whipped around. The table was bare, all their carefully prepared weapons somehow vanished. He turned back in terror, but somehow the thing was _right there_ in front of him, and before he even had time to swing a punch it reached out and tapped him on the forehead.

 

   Gabriel felt his muscles go rigid and he was suddenly frozen in place, only his eyes able to swivel helplessly in their sockets. His heart beating a terrified double time against his ribs, remembering the last time he had been frozen like this, unable to move as a different monster advanced on Cas. He had time to see the smug smirk on the thing’s face before it turned to his little brother.

 

   “What have you done to him? Who are you?” Cas gritted at it, blue eyes flashing with fury and dancing between the monster walking towards him and Gabriel, obviously wanting to go and check on him but the thing was in the way.

 

   “Hi there. Is that a knife in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?” It smirked and Gabriel would have snarled at it if he could do more than breathe heavily. “Oh don’t worry about him, he’s fine. I’ve just frozen him a little while we talk. I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.”  The thing’s voice was deep and strong, its movements confident as it swaggered towards Cas. Surely it wasn’t stupid enough to get within range.

 

   Predictably, as soon as it walked within striking distance, Cas lunged forwards and buried the demon knife deep into its chest. Gabriel gave an internal cheer, expecting the thing to topple over.

 

   Instead it grinned and reached up with one hand to grasp the handle, pulled the serrated blade out from between its ribs with a nasty sucking sound, and dropped it to the floor with a clatter.

 

   Oh god, they were dead. They were so fucking dead.

 

   “Well that was rude. Castiel, right?” It said. “We need to talk. I’m gonna call you Cas if that’s okay, ‘cos your full name’s kind of a mouthful.”

 

   Cas looked shaken, but he was hiding it well. “What are you?”

 

   “My name is Diniel, but you guys can call me Dean.”

 

   “No, _what_ are you?” Gabriel internally begged Cas to stop talking back to the most powerful thing that they’d ever met. Dean was looking around at the symbols on the walls with curiosity, then refocused on Cas.

 

   “I’m an angel of the Lord.”

 

   There was a moment of disbelieving silence, then Cas scoffed. “There’s no such thing.”

 

   To Gabriel’s surprise, instead of being offended by Cas’ attitude, Dean grinned. “Yeah, well, I suppose if someone told me that I’d be a little dubious too. Better believe it, buddy.” As he spoke something under his voice deepened to a rumble, and the air grew heavy in the room again. White lightning flashed, illuminating the great black shadows of a pair of wings stretched across the back wall, spread wide and proud and aggressive in display.

 

   Both humans stared at him wide-eyed in awe. Then the light died suddenly and Dean looked like just a man again in his worn jeans and loose shirts.

 

   “You’re no angel,” Cas growled at him, “You burnt a woman’s eyes out.”

 

   Dean grimaced. “I tried to tell her to turn back. Our true forms aren’t exactly designed for mortals, or our true voices. But you knew that already, Cas.”

 

   “That noise, at the Gas station and the motel? That was you?” Dean nodded. “Lower the volume next time.”

 

   Dean was still staring at Cas with creepy intensity. “Yeah, sorry, my bad. I thought you might be one of the humans who can hear me without their eardrums rupturing, but apparently not.”

 

   “So if that’s not your true form, what am I seeing now? Is it an illusion?”

 

   “Nah, this is a vessel. I got this monkey suit just for you.”

 

   Cas stiffened. “You’re possessing some poor man?”

 

   Dean chuckled. “Cool your jets. The guy was devout, he prayed for this.”

 

   Cas shook his head, jaw clenching. “That doesn’t make it right. I still don’t believe that you’re an angel. Why would an angel rescue me from hell?”

 

   Dean stepped closer, only a foot between their faces now. “Good things do happen, Cas.”

 

   Cas shook his head, eyes still locked on the angel. “Not in my experience.”

 

   Dean’s head tilted sideways, like he was trying to figure something out. Then he straightened. “Oh. You don’t think you deserve to be saved.”

 

   Internally, Gabriel gasped, shocked and a little horrified. How could Cas, his wonderful, loyal brother, ever doubt that he deserved to be saved? Gabriel was the one who had deserved to rot down there, not him.

 

   Cas’ jaw clenched, his eyes burning blue fire as he scowled Dean down, not denying the claim. “Why did you do it?”

 

   For the first time Dean’s face lost its playful edge, turning serious and grave. “Because God commanded it. And we have work for you. See you around, Cas.” He drew back, stepping away. For a moment Gabriel thought that he was going to walk out the doors, but he never got that far. There was a quiet _whup-whuf_ and a breath of air, and he was gone. They were alone in the darkness of the barn. Even the wind had died away.

 

   As soon as the angel vanished Gabriel’s muscles relaxed themselves and he staggered a little before tottering over to the ladder with shaky legs to sit on the bottom rung. He turned back to Cas and they stared at each other for a moment, lost for words.

 

   Gabriel let out a heavy sigh. “Well, shit.”


	7. Witches Are the Worst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of 'It's the great pumpkin, Sam Winchester'.
> 
>  
> 
> .

   Gabriel had always loved Halloween when he was a kid. It was the perfect opportunity to prank the entire neighbourhood, and since they were constantly moving on and their father didn’t give a single shit about what they did when they weren’t training to be good little soldiers, he could usually get away with wreaking havoc.

 

   Then, obviously, he had realised that evil shit usually went down on Halloween, and slowly over the years the fun had been sucked out of it by the annual horrifying cases that turned up like clockwork. There was always one group of idiots who managed to find an actual summoning ritual and decided to try it out. Ghosts, mummies, pagan gods, that freaky scarecrow thing. Gabriel would say that he had seen it all, but he had a horrible suspicion that if he said that then the universe would find something brand new just for him.

 

   And just because this year they had all the extra hassle of dealing with angels and demons on top of everything else, that didn’t mean that the universe was going to give them a break. In fact, it might just have whipped up something special, just for the occasion.

 

   “Witches?” He groaned. “Damn, I hate witches.”

 

   Cas was poking through the components of the latest hex bag from the brutally murdered victim’s house. “Everybody hates witches, Gabriel. This is a powerful one too. Extinct herbs, Celtic coins… this is going to be difficult.” Half listening, Gabriel picked up a small blackened object from the motel room table and peered at it curiously. Cas raised an eyebrow at him. “And that is the charred metacarpal bone of a new-born baby.”

 

   Gabriel threw it down with a grimace of disgust and wiped his hands vigorously on his jeans. “You see, this is exactly what I mean. It’s just nasty. Why do people do this shit?”

 

   It wasn’t long before another victim turned up dead, and this time the kill was even more obvious. Getting boiled alive while bobbing for apples was one of the least subtle supernatural deaths that Gabriel had ever seen.

 

   “So she had no connections to the other guy that was killed, they lived across town from each other, they had literally nothing in common and they’re both clean. Just regular people, so as far as I can tell there’s no reason for bitchy witchy revenge killings. It doesn’t make sense,” Gabriel sighed, closing out of the tabs.

 

   “Well, the hex bag is definitely the same,” Cas was actually wielding one of those old-fashioned hand held magnifying glasses like he was Sherlock Holmes, peering at the contents of the bag with hugely magnified eyes.

 

   Gabriel frowned. “Maybe the killings weren’t about them, then. Maybe they’re working a spell rather than dealing with a grudge.”

 

   Cas eyes widened in realisation and he dragged a book out from under his bed like he had summoned the information, carefully flipping open the thick pages. “What about this? ‘Three blood sacrifices over three days, the last before midnight of the final day of the final harvest’.”

 

   “How do you even find this stuff so fast?” Gabriel wandered over. “What were the blood sacrifices for?”

 

   “Well, it looks like this witch is attempting to summon Samhain,” Cas narrowed his eyes at the cramped text. “The original demon of Halloween. People used to put on masks to hide from him, but he was exorcised centuries ago. The rituals stuck, but he’s downstairs.”

 

   “Well, looks like he won’t be downstairs for much longer if we can’t get this damn witch,” Gabriel turned the page and gazed interestedly at a particularly gruesome illustration. “They’re really cracking out the big boys. Go big or go home, I suppose.”

 

   “That’s not all. Once he’s out he will start raising other things as well.”

 

   “So not only do we have a big daddy demon to contend with, but you’re telling me we’ll have a hoard of other evil shit following us around too like an apocalyptic mariachi band?” Cas nodded grimly, and Gabriel sighed dramatically. “Well, we’d better get going then.”

 

.o0o.

 

   “Well, so far I’ve got a great big steamy pile of nothing,” Gabriel commented to Cas down the phone as he picked up another piece of candy. If he had to stake out a victim’s house, then he was at least compensating himself for it.

 

   _“Try to focus, Gabriel,”_ Cas’ voice was tinny over the line. _“Someone planted those hex bags, someone who had access to both houses.”_

 

   Still chewing, Gabriel reached for the candy again, but out of the corner of his eye he saw someone walk up to the house and go inside. No, it couldn’t be.

 

   “Hey, Cas, you know Tracy Davis? The cheerleader we interviewed who was friends with the girl who got cooked lobster style?”

 

_“Of course.”_

 

   “Could you run a search on her? I think she’s the first victim’s babysitter.”

 

   He heard the sound of clicking. _“Well, this looks like a lead. It says here she was suspended from school after a violent altercation with a teacher. If you could pick me up, we should check this out before she can perform the third sacrifice.”_

“Hey, Cas, if we’re catching a babysitter, should we bring along the pizza man as bait?”

 

   Gabriel just heard an aggrieved sigh on the other end of the line before Cas hung up to the sound of his cackling.

 

.o0o.

 

   “Please! Call me Don, even my students call me Don.” The art teacher juggled a box as he shook their hands.

 

   “So, we’d just like to ask you some questions about Tracy Davis.” Cas slipped the FBI badge back into his pocket.

 

   Don nodded. “Yeah, bright kid, very talented, it’s a shame she got suspended.”

 

   “The two of you had a ‘violent altercation’?”

 

   “Yeah, if the principle hadn’t walked by when he did she would have clawed my eyes out. I was just trying to rap with her about her work. It had gotten inappropriate and disturbing.”

 

   “What, more disturbing than those?” Gabriel pointed over to the creepy masks, complete with horns, melted-looking flesh and sunken pits for eyes. He wouldn’t want to sleep with them in the house, and he hunted monsters for a living.

 

   Don smiled at them fondly, like they were pictures of fluffy rabbits. Art teachers. “Yeah, she started drawing these scenes of massacres. And she would depict herself in the middle of them… participating. And then she would cover page after page in bizarre, cryptic symbols.”

 

   “Anything like this?” Cas pulled the Celtic coin from his pocket and presented it to the man who squinted at it.

 

   “Yeah, actually, I think that was one of them.”

 

   Cas tucked it back into his coat and shot Gabriel a significant look. “Thank you, Don, this was very helpful.”

 

.o0o.

 

   When Gabriel opened the door to their dark motel room and saw the silhouette of a man standing in the middle of the floor, his first instinct was to pull a gun on him.

 

   “Who are you?”

 

   “Gabriel, wait, stop!” Cas grabbed his gun arm. “That’s Dean. Him, however,” he glanced towards a second silhouette standing by the window, “him I have no idea.”

 

   “Hey there, Cas,” Dean sauntered forwards and came to stand in front of them. “Have you killed the witch?”

 

   “Not yet, but we know who it is.” Cas was staring at Dean in that overly intense way he sometimes did, but instead of getting offended or uncomfortable Dean was staring back, like he was just as curious about Cas. Gabriel hoped that they would get fed up with inspecting the backs of each other’s eyeballs soon, because it was starting to get uncomfortable.             

 

   “Well, looks like they know who you are too.” Dean said, twirling a small leather pouch between his fingers. Great, another hex bag. “This was in the walls. Do you know where the witch is now?” Dean’s tone was almost teasing as he glanced back up at Cas with a challenge. Was it just him, or was Dean looking at Cas with… interest? Just the thought of the angel trying to pull the moves on his little brother made Gabriel’s hackles rise. His eyes narrowed at the tiny amount of personal space between their bodies.

 

   “No, we’re not sure exactly where she is.”

 

   “But we’re closing in. And when we find her, we can take her down.” Gabriel added confidently. He didn’t want to look completely incompetent in front of these overly righteous douchebags.

 

   Dean snorted. “Okay, short stack.”

 

   Gabriel smiled sharply, his eyes narrowing. “Eat me, _Diniel_. I’m six ounces of whoop-ass. I can take on one witch before you take the time to put on your harp and halo. And don’t even think about going near Cassie here, ‘cos I’ll rip your wings off your back and mount them on my wall,” he added pleasantly.

 

   Dean grinned back and spread his hands, challenging. “I’d like to see you try.”

 

   Cas turned to Gabriel, frowning. “Gabriel, what are you talking about, I am perfectly capable of-”

 

   Dean interrupted him. “Anyway, we need to stop this witch, the sooner the better. See, Samhain is one of the sixty six seals to the Cage.”

 

   “So this is about your buddy Lucifer?” Gabriel butted in again. Cas had told him about Dean’s little visits and the impending apocalypse, and he seemed to be making an effort to show up whenever Gabriel wasn’t there. He’d say he wasn’t salty about being left out of the party and suspicious of Dean getting his brother all alone, but he was.

 

   “Lucifer is not our ‘buddy’.” Gabriel jumped a little at the strange voice. He had almost forgotten that there was another person there. The stranger by the window turned, highlighting his profile, his military short hair and stiff stature. His voice was flat and emotionless, and Gabriel’s spine crawled. Dangerous, his instinct whispered. Deadly. Stay away.

 

   He held up his hands. “Just an expression sweet cheeks, no need to get offended.”

 

   Dean was ignoring them, his overly intense attention already back on Cas. “We can’t let Samhain rise. Gotta stop this seal from breaking.”

 

   Cas nodded. “Very well, we can work together. We already know who she is, so we can-”

 

   “Enough.” The deep voice of the man by the window cut through the conversation again.

 

   Gabriel had had just about enough as well. “Okay, chuckles, who are you?”

 

   Dean sighed slightly and grimaced, like he had been paired with a bad partner for a group project. “This is Gordon. You could say he’s a… specialist. Gordon, this is Cas, the Righteous Man.”

 

   “What, I’m not even worth mentioning?” Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest

 

   Dean smiled like a shark. “And this is Gabriel, the boy with the demon blood.”

 

   Gabriel bristled and Cas tensed and opened his mouth to argue, but Gabriel held up a hand. “You say he’s a specialist, what kind of specialist? What are you going to do?” he demanded, voice sharp.

 

   “Both of you need to leave town right now.”

 

   “Why?”

 

   “Because we’re going to destroy it.”

 

   There was a beat of shocked silence.

 

   “You _what_?!?” Gabriel shouted, “That’s it? That’s your big plan? You’re just gonna smite the whole town?”

 

   Dean shrugged, mildly apologetic. “We’re out of time, and we need to gank this witch. We have to save the seal.”

 

   “But there are over a thousand people in this town!”

 

   “One thousand two hundred and fourteen,” Gordon proclaimed without any inflection whatsoever, like those were grains of sand he was talking about rather than people he was going to murder in cold blood.

 

   Gabriel glanced between the angels, disbelieving. “And what, you’re just gonna obliterate them?”

 

   “This isn’t the first time I’ve purified a city in the name of our Father.” Gordon’s dark, soulless gaze bored into him, and suddenly Gabriel could imagine it.

 

   “You sick bastards.” Gabriel’s mouth twisted in disgust. This just proved it, good things didn’t happen, angels were dicks. He fucking hated them all.

 

   “Look, I wish we didn’t have to do this, okay? I get it.” Dean was trying to mediate, and Gabriel would never have guessed after the barn that Dean might be one of the more passive angels. “But we have to hold the line, too many seals have been broken already.”

 

   “And now this town has to pay because you assmonkies can’t do your jobs right?”

 

   “It’s the lives of a thousand versus everyone on the planet, short-ass. Get a little perspective. We’re looking at the bigger picture here.” When their mutinous expressions didn’t change, Dean sighed. “Look. We can’t let Lucifer rise, because he’ll bring hell with him. Nobody wants hell on earth.”

 

   “We’ll stop this witch before the summoning. That way, the seal won’t be broken and no one has to die.” Cas pleaded.

 

   Gordon turned back to them, his expression dangerous and bored. His gaze drifted over Cas like he was an ant on the floor, then turned away from Gabriel with disgust like he was too repulsive to look at. “We’re wasting our time with these mud monkeys, Diniel.”

 

   Cas looked at Dean desperately, fists clenched. “No, Dean, you can’t do this! You’re angels, you help people!”

 

   Gabriel wanted to snort at Cas’ naïve disbelief. Yeah they were angels. Did it look like they were the good guys? He really wasn’t surprised that angels were just another variety of monster. But Cas’ hurt stung the most. He’d always believed far too much in the divine for his own good.

 

   Dean turned away. “Sorry, Cas but we have our orders. We don’t have a choice.”

 

   “Of course you’ve got a choice,” Gabriel snarled, “You’ve always got a choice. And you’re choosing to be dicks. Nice move. Come on, Cassie, let’s go and catch this bitch before the winged assholes nuke the town.”

 

   Cas ignored Gabriel tugging on his sleeve, focusing on Dean. “You have never questioned bad orders? Are you just a tool?”

 

   Something in there must have stung, because Dean spun around again. “Look, even if you can’t understand, have faith. This is the right path.”

 

   “How can you say that? Killing people unnecessarily is never the right thing to do.” Gabriel could almost see his brother’s faith trickling out of him like a weeping wound.

 

   “These orders come straight from heaven. That makes them just.”

 

   Cas raised his chin defiantly. “It must be nice, to be so sure of yourselves that you never need to have an individual thought.”

 

   “Tell me, Cas. When your father gave you orders, did you question them?”

 

   Cas scowled at him thunderously. “Well, if you are going to smite this town then you’re going to have to smite us with it, because we are not leaving. You raised me from hell, you told me yourself that you need me for something.” Gabriel half wanted to applaud him; he loved it when Cas was a stubborn, manipulative bastard to people other than him. The other half of him wanted to drag Cas out of there before he got smote by angry angels.

 

   Gordon was smiling at Cas frigidly. “I’ll drag you out of here myself.”

 

   Cas’ eyes were cold and hard as steel. “To do that you would have to kill me, and then you would still have the same problem.” He turned back to Dean and spoke to him earnestly. “We can do this, we can deal with one witch. We’ll stop the summoning before midnight.”

 

   Gordon scoffed. “Diniel, surely these pathetic-”

 

   “Enough, Gordon.” Gordon shut up, and Gabriel realised with surprise that Dean must have been his boss. Dean looked Cas in the eyes, again completely ignoring Gabriel.

 

   “I suggest you move quickly.”

 

   Gabriel blinked, and with a rustle of wings, they were gone.

 

.o0o.

 

   Dean stood in the sunlight with his hands in his pockets, taking in the smell of fresh growth on the air with deep breaths that he didn’t really need. He could feel Gordon behind him sitting on a bench, sulking for being made to chill outside in a park on this beautiful autumn morning. Well, he could just sulk some more, because it had been decades since he had last been given permission to visit earth and that was before the forty year stint in hell, so Dean was going to soak up the beauty of Father’s creation for a few minutes and Gordon could suck it up.

 

   As well as the resentful glow of Gordon’s Grace behind him, he could feel the human, Castiel, somewhere across town. He would have been paying attention to them anyway, Cas was his assignment after all, but this accidental soul bond that they had made on the long trip from the pit was proving to be useful. It was interesting to get an insight into the human’s head.

 

   _“Gabriel, I don’t see why you’re objecting so much. He’s not flirting with me when he comes to me, we just talk.”_

_“That’s what you think now. I’m telling you, he’s up to no good, him and that creepy-ass friend of his. I just don’t like the way he looks at you, Cas, it’s like you’re a bug under the microscope or, I don’t know, a fucking slice of pie!”_ The righteous man’s brother was saying from the other seat of the car.

Annoyance filled the connection _. “Gabriel, I am perfectly capable of fending him off if he makes any unwelcome advances. I don’t need you interceding on my behalf.”_

Gabriel harrumphed and sat back in his seat, sulking. _“Well, are we going to find this witch for those prize asshats, or are you just going to sit there fingering your bone?”_

Dean grinned reluctantly at the joke. At least the abomination had a sense of humour to go along with the demon blood addiction that he could see running through his veins like tar.

Cas didn’t even glance up, turning the charred bone over in his nimble fingers. _“To do this to a bone would require a great amount of heat, more than an oven.”_

_“So you’re saying she used the kiln? The one in the art classroom?”_

_“That seems the most likely explanation. However, did you notice that the hex bag only appeared after we went asking about Tracy? Tracy herself wasn’t there. There was no way she could have known that we were asking after her.”_

The abomination’s face cleared in comprehension. _“I think we need to check out Don’s office.”_

_Cas nodded and started the car, still trying not to think about the encounter with the angels earlier. He had read the bible and had known that they were warriors, but he had pictured them as much more righteous and merciful. And to think he had been praying to them for most of his life. Killing a whole town, just for one witch? Gabriel had been right all along, they was nothing but monsters with a better public image._

 

   Dean winced and pulled his attention back to the park. He knew that this was necessary for the mission, but still it hurt unexpectedly that Cas thought of him like that. He wasn’t a hammer. He wasn’t. He had almost- (Sam, falling, his horrified face as he fled into the night-) (strapped to the table, the needle poised above his eye-) but no. He shoved the memories back down roughly.

 

   He watched the humans more distantly as they drove across town and broke into the school, finding more bones to prove the involvement of the second witch.

 

   “I don’t like this.” Gordon’s grumbling dragged his attention back to the park again.

 

   Dean rolled his eyes out of his line of sight. “Can it, Gordon, we’re doing it. The decision’s been made.”

 

   Gordon snorted derisively. “Yeah, by a mud monkey.”

 

   “You shouldn’t call them that.” Dean turned to frown at him.

 

   “Why not? That’s what they are. Just savages, scratching around in the dirt and filth.” Gordon grimaced in disgust as another group of children walked by in costumes, giggling and laughing. Sometimes, Dean wondered how it was possible that he and Gordon were on the same side.

 

   But no. That was blasphemy, he couldn’t afford to think like that. Not after Sam.

 

   He drew himself back together. “There’s a reason we were sent here. Cas might succeed. He’s got potential. And anyway,” he flopped down onto the sun-warmed wood of the bench, “It’s out of our hands.”

 

   “It doesn’t have to be.”

 

   Dean eyed him. “What you suggesting, Gordon?”

 

   “That we drag Castiel out of here by the scruff and blow the abomination and this insignificant pinprick off the map.”

 

   Dean turned properly to scowl at him. “You know our true orders. Are you trying to say you want to disobey?”

 

   Gordon smiled sharply. “Well, you would know all about that, wouldn’t you Diniel?”

 

   “Enough!” Dean barked, the echoes loud enough to cause the people on the paths to freeze and whip around to stare at them. A flock of birds took flight in panic and for a second there was shocked silence before the sounds of nature resumed. Gordon sat stock still, not taking his eyes off his superior. For anyone with eyes that could see them, Dean’s great steel-grey wings were spread wide and high in aggressive display. Gordon’s slowly folded down in reluctant submission.

 

   “Enough,” Dean growled, quieter this time, folding in his wings, still ruffled, against his back. “We will do as instructed, follow Castiel’s orders. The resolve of the Righteous Man needs to be tested.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel and Cas burst into the basement just in time that evening. The art teacher was raising the knife to stab Tracy when Gabriel aimed his gun and shot him in the chest. Don jerked backwards with the force of the bullets, then slumped to the ground, and Cas hurried past him to cut the rope tying Tracy’s wrists to the ceiling.

 

   “Thank you,” She sobbed as Gabriel prodded Don with the toe of his boot. “Thank you so much! He was going to kill me! That sick son of a bitch! I mean did you see what he was doing? Did you hear him?” Gabriel thought he might have to go and rescue Cas in a minute after he finished making sure this guy was dead. Cas never had liked dealing with freaked out victims.

 

   “I mean, did you hear how sloppy his incantation was?” Her voice had changed suddenly, the panic gone. Gabriel’s head whipped up and he stared at her, realisation crashing down. “My brother always was a little dim,” she gloated, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

 

   Gabriel drew his gun again, but before he could fire she threw him with supernatural strength to the floor. Their weapons skittered away as Cas was flung down next to him, and Gabriel groaned. There had been two witches. Two of them this whole time. How had they not noticed? He tried to get back up, or at least reach out for a weapon, but the witch flicked her fingers lazily and pain erupted in his stomach like his gall bladder was burning through him from the inside out.

 

   The witch didn’t seemed to be affected by the sight of them writhing on the floor. Over the pain, Gabriel could still hear her talking. “Don was going to make me the final sacrifice.” She rolled her eyes and sighed, looking down at her brother. Gabriel curled in on himself, twisting in agony. “Now that honour goes to him, I suppose. The spell work was a two man job, you know. For six hundred years I’ve had to deal with the pompous son of a bitch. Planning, preparing. Unbearable.” Still ignoring them, she knelt next to the body on the floor. “The whole time I wanted to rip his face off.”

 

   She stood, the ornate goblet in her hand now filled with blood, and walked over to the altar, grinning with satisfaction. “You know, back in the day, this was the one night you kept your children inside. Guess tonight they’ll all see what Halloween really is.”

 

   With growing horror, Gabriel watched as she began to chant, the words twisting with power and darkness. They had to stop her, before it was too late. He tried to uncurl, to reach for a gun, saw Cas doing the same out of the corner of his eye, but another wave of burning ripped through his abdomen and it was all that he could do to breathe through it and not scream.

 

   She kept going, and Gabriel realised that it was too late, the incantation had already started. The demon was on the way, and he was going to bet that he wouldn’t be a happy bunny by the time he got top side. Gabriel’s mind spun, fuzzy with pain, as he tried to come up with a plan to get them out of there. Survival, that was always a good starting point.

 

   He thought about the masks that people had worn to fend off Samhain, and his eyes fell on the pool of blood still spreading from Don’s body. He grimaced. Better than nothing.

 

   He reached out a trembling hand and swiped it through the still-warm blood, smearing it across his face liberally, then reaching across to do the same to Cas. Cas looked at him like he had lost his sanity as Gabriel’s shaky fingers left sticky red trails across his cheeks, a dribble running down his nose from where his palm had left a broad smear on his forehead. They were going to need so many showers after this.

 

   “Just go with it, don’t move,” Gabriel gasped with effort, just before the concrete floor split and grey churning smoke erupted from the ground. It wove itself into a dark funnel and dove into the open mouth of Don’s body, shuddering and spasming as Samhain took possession of it.

 

   Slowly, jerkily, Samhain stood, only the pinpricks of black pupils in eerie blank white eyes, and Gabriel lay deliberately still, gesturing at Cas to do the same. The demon turned, squinting short-sightedly around. Finally that dead gaze came to rest on Tracy, still standing near him with a worshipful smile on her face.

 

   “My lord. My love.”

 

   The demon gave a grimacing smile and stepped forwards, then took her face in its hands and pressed a kiss to her lips. Gabriel gagged slightly.

 

   “You’ve aged,” It rasped in a voice that was sandpaper over glass. _Not looking too good yourself_ , Gabriel thought privately.

 

   “I can’t fool you with this young face, my love,” She said, staring devotedly up at him. He smiled back at her.

 

   Then he abruptly wrenched her head around. There was a sharp _crack_ as her neck snapped, and then a muffled thump as her boneless corpse dropped to the floor like a sack of meat. He sniffed. “Whore,” Samhain grunted, then turned, scenting the air like a predator on the hunt, bestial.

 

   Gabriel lay absolutely still as the demon peered down at them, feigning death. For a second or two it inspected them. Gabriel held his breath.

 

   Finally, the demon sniffed and straightened, stalking slowly past them. They waited until the muffled footsteps had retreated up the stairs out of the basement before Gabriel sat up, wiping his sleeve over his face to stop the excess blood from dribbling into his eyes.

 

   “What the hell, Gabriel?” Cas grumbled, scrubbing ineffectively at his cheeks.

 

   “Well, looks like the disguise thing works. No need to thank me, princess, we’ll remove the face mask later.” He leant down to pull Cas to his feet. “Come on, we’ve got a demon to stop.”

 

.o0o.

 

   The cemetery. Of course. Where else would any self-respecting demon go to raise a little hell? Gabriel left Cas to free the teenagers trapped in the crypt, jogging through the corridors until he caught sight of movement. He stopped.

 

   There was Samhain, with his back to him at the end of the corridor. Gabriel walked forwards cautiously. Maybe it hadn’t noticed him yet, he had seemed pretty short-sighted in the basement, but usually demons weren’t that stupid.

 

   Sure enough, the demon whipped suddenly around and thrust out a hand, the same burning white light that Lilith had used surrounding him. Gabriel kept walking forwards, ignoring the way his eyes were stinging.

 

   “Yeah, the demon death ray doesn’t really work on me. I’ll give you credit though, you’ve got nice special effects for a cheap horror movie knockoff. Better luck next time.” He saw the shock in the demon’s dead eyes just before he caught it in the face with a right hook.

 

   The fight was a blur of fists and blows. Gabriel was stronger than he should have been with the demon blood running through his veins, but Samhain was an ancient and powerful demon, and even though he’d only been on the surface for an hour he was fast as a snake.

 

   A fist hit the side of Gabriel’s head with a glancing blow, making his ears ring and his vision swim, and he staggered sideways. The demon took advantage of his momentary lapse of concentration and grabbed him by the throat, shoving him up the wall until his feet left the floor. Gabriel choked, writhing in Samhain’s grip, scrabbling inside his jacket for the knife.

 

   His fingers closed around the hilt and he whipped it out, slicing towards the demon’s neck, but before it reached its destination Samhain caught the blow on his forearm with an enraged grimace and threw the knife away.

 

   Gabriel glanced down at the knife in panic, now well and truly out of reach. Samhain flung him away down the hall and then stalked closer, closing in for the kill.

 

   Without giving himself the chance to think about it, Gabriel flung his hand out between himself and the approaching demon and reached out with his mind. He could feel the demon coming towards him, an oncoming storm of malice and evil, and mentally constructed a wall to hold it back. He pushed.

 

   The demon stopped short, the pale eyes widening in surprise and then anger as it threw itself against the barrier, howling its cry for blood. Its feet slipped against the floor as it struggled for purchase to push forwards, and it gained another step, black smoke leaking from its chest and mouth.

 

   Behind Samhain, Gabriel saw Cas stagger around the corner, his eyes widening in shock and disappointment as he took in the scene before him. But Gabriel couldn’t stop concentrating on the barrier, not even for a second, not if he wanted them to live. His head began to throb, the pressure building, but he grabbed the demon’s essence with his mental hands and began to squeeze.

 

   The demon fell forwards, gagging and choking on the smoke that was pouring out now to pool around it, scorching the floor black in its death throes. Finally, the demon was gone, the body’s eyes vacant and empty, but human. Gabriel slumped, breathing heavily, and gingerly wiped the blood trailing from his nose. His eyes slowly rose to meet Cas’, who was looking back at him, conflicted. Gabriel looked away again.

 

   “Let’s get out of here.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel was packing his duffel when he heard the whispering rustle behind him. With his nerves eroded from the stress of the previous night, it didn’t even take him half a second before he had whipped around and had his gun pointed at the head of the man standing there who hadn’t been there a second before.

 

   Gordon looked down on him disdainfully, the enormous dickhead. “Oh,” Gabriel said, dropping his arm, “It’s you.”

 

   “The boy with the demon blood.” Gabriel could almost feel the hatred coming off him in waves. “You were told not to use your abilities, and yet you still brazenly use that tainted power that that demon’s blood pumping through your veins gives you. You truly are an abomination.”

 

   Gabriel tilted his chin disrespectfully. “Look, not like this isn’t a lovely conversation and everything, but I don’t give a rainbow-coloured flying fuck what you think. If I hadn’t used my abilities that demon would’ve killed me, and Cas, and everyone in this town. I’m not gonna regret stopping that.”

  

   “You were told not to. Twice.” Gordon repeated. He stepped over towards Gabriel, coming uncomfortably close. Gabriel held his ground.

 

   “The only reason that you are alive, abomination, is that you are useful. But the moment that stops being true, the second you become more trouble than you’re worth…” Gordon leaned in closer, “I will turn you to dust.” His dark smile told Gabriel that he would enjoy it, too. Gabriel supressed a shudder.

 

   The angel drew back and turned to walk away. “As for Castiel, you should ask him what he remembers from hell.”

 

   There was a thunderous clap of wings, and Gordon was gone. Gabriel sighed in exhausted relief and sat down heavily on the bed behind him. It was a long time before he started packing again.

 


	8. LARPing as a Real Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves, this chapter's a long one! It's a rehashing of 'I know what you did last summer' and 'Heaven and hell'. Extra points if you spot Sam!

   The air in the bar was smogged with cigarette smoke to the extent that it was hard to make out the balls on the pool table in front of them. It was the kind of classy establishment where the smell of stale beer and body odour would have made anyone who wasn’t used to digging up rotting corpses gag. It was also the perfect setting for some hustling.

 

   “Hey, don’t you think my brother’s a little too sauced to be making bets? Come on, Cassie, you’ve already given away two of our hard earned bills.”

 

   The burly guy at the other end of the able smirked and shrugged at Gabriel, with the greedy glint in his eye of someone who has spotted easy money. He didn’t look like the sharpest pencil in the packet. Gabriel would bet that when Cas started actually playing he wouldn’t be smirking for much longer. “He insisted.”

 

   Cas, of course, was not sauced at all. He was a lightweight, but shot glasses full of water were a good decoy. “I’m fine, Gabriel,” He slurred with a scowl, and Gabriel idly wondered where he had learnt how to imitate a grumpy drunk so well. Probably dad. 

 

   He leaned over the table with his arm crossed. “No, you’re not fine, you’re hammered. Let’s get out of here.” He made a show of tugging on the sleeve of Cas’ coat, and Cas staggered away looking offended. Gabriel threw his hands up in feigned surrender. “Okay, fine. Just don’t come crying to me when you lose all your money, bucko.”

 

   He pretended to stomp away, then turned to watch the entertainment from the other end of the bar. Cas lost again, betted high as the other guy laughed and matched him, then promptly obliterated the poor shmuck. Gabriel was eating the apple from his second appletini (in his opinion, the only acceptable way to eat fruit) by the time Cas walked over, winnings already safely tucked away.

 

   “Damn, Cas, your acting skills were on fire this evening. You’re definitely in the wrong career, you should hit up Broadway.”

 

   “Gabriel, we should get going, I don’t think that man was particularly happy with me taking all of his-” He cut off, staring at something over his shoulder, and Gabriel turned to see who had Cas’ sharp attention.

 

   There, sitting on the end of the bar in a long red dress, was Kali. Cas’ lips pursed in displeasure and his brow tightened, suspicion written across every line on his forehead as she slipped off the stool and stalked closer.

 

   “Coming here was a mistake,” Cas growled at her, but Kali was as unimpressed as ever.

 

   “Relax robocop, I’ve just got some information for you then I’m gone. You couldn’t pay me to stay in this dump.” Her nose was wrinkled as she looked around in disgust.

 

   “I would have thought that you would feel right at home here, with the scum of the earth.”

 

   “Anyway,” Gabriel interrupted from between them, “What have you got for us?”

 

   Kali turned her dark eyes on him. “A girl named Charlie Bradbury escaped from a locked ward yesterday, and the demons seem very keen on finding her. There’s been a lot of whispers.”

 

   “Who is she?”

 

   Kali rapped the bar with her fingernails. “Not a clue, but I’m thinking that if so many people are after her she’s got to be important, because they’ve been ordered to capture her alive. So you might want to find this girl before the demons do.” She gave him a significant look then turned and stalked off, stealing a cocktail from a girl who was looking the other way as she went.

 

   Gabriel turned back to Cas, who was watching her go with his scowl still firmly in place. “Look, I know you hate her guts, but she’s never lied to me about things like this. We should check it out.”

 

   Cas reluctantly nodded, then spotted the guy that he had conned out of all his cash approaching the bar with a group of equally burly friends. They high tailed it out of the door before the men could make it through the crowd.

 

.o0o.

 

   Rain spattered the windshield of the continental, the occasional streetlight throwing fitful light into the front of the car only to plunge back into darkness as they drove on through the night.

 

   “Well, I’ve got the missing person’s file, Charlie Bradbury’s definitely a real person,” Gabriel put his phone back into his pocket, then glanced up at Cas’ pursed up, pissy face and sighed. “Come on, Cassie, spit it out already before you choke on it.”

 

   Cas sat there silently, mouth clammed shut, hands clamped around the steering wheel as he stared straight ahead. His eyes looked dark and brooding, almost black in the jaundiced light of the street lamps.

 

   “You don’t like this because Kali put us onto it, that’s what it is, isn’t it?”

 

   Cas ground his teeth. “I spend four months in hell, and all of a sudden that… piece of filth is part of the family as far as you’re concerned. What happened, Gabriel?”

 

   “I told you, she was helping me go after Lilith.”

 

   “You’re going to have to give me more details than that.”

 

   Gabriel twisted in his seat, irritation flashing, sarcastic smirk in place. “Oh, okay! Well, since we’re sitting round the campfire swapping stories, won’t you tell the class about your little field trip to hell? Don’t skimp on the details.”

 

   Cas snarled at him but stayed quiet, going back to watching the road. They drove on in brooding silence.

 

.o0o.

 

   “So this poor kid has visions, hears voices, says she believes in monsters and angels and they stick her in the loony bin? Bit harsh. I would have prescribed bed rest and a large bottle of whisky. Always works for me.”

 

  “Don’t call it a loony bin, Gabriel. Anyway, have you seen these notes?” Cas was leafing through a clipboard as they walked along, looking surprisingly good in doctor’s getup. “Apparently, Charlie warned them that the apocalypse was coming, and that Lucifer would rise to lead it.”

 

   “Sounds pretty accurate to me. Mind you, if we’re going on that then there’s a whole bunch of street preachers that we should check out. Cas?”

 

   Cas had stopped abruptly in the middle of the corridor, frowning down at the paper. Gabriel sighed and pushed him against the wall so that an annoyed looking orderly could get past with a trolley.

 

   “Gabriel, look at this,” Cas murmured, passing the clipboard over. Gabriel’s eyebrows rose as he scanned the scribbled sketches, the words pencilled in at the top of each page so hard that the paper was nearly broken.

 

   “The raising of the witnesses. She knew about the seals.”

 

   He turned the page. There were the words ‘Samhain; the next seal is broken’, writ large and dark and ominous over a creepily accurate drawing of Don’s face.

 

   “Well that’s not freaky at all,” he muttered, “Good enough case evidence for you yet, Cas?”

 

   “I never said that we didn’t have enough evidence. We should track down her parents, get some more information on her.”

 

.o0o.

 

   “Oh man. Not again.” Gabriel sighed to himself as he knelt down by the bodies on the floor of the Bradbury’s living room. He straightened and pushed his hand through his hair, combed back from playing at being feds, when stuck his hands into his suit pockets and called out into the hallway. “Don’t bother, Cas. We’re too late. They already redecorated in red.”

 

   Cas walked in, his face falling at the sight of the blood staining the cream carpet. “That is unfortunate. How long?”

 

   “A good while, a couple of hours at least, they’re both stone cold and there’s rigor mortis setting in. It was demons judging by the sulphur, but whoever did this is long gone.”

 

   Cas’ brow furrowed in thought. “We need to find the girl, and fast. Where would Charlie have gone, if she was scared and knew that demons were after her?”

 

   Gabriel shrugged. “Dunno, a church maybe? Sacred ground and all that.”

 

   Cas eyes lit up. “Yes! Her therapist mentioned that her family was religious. Here, look, in the sketches she keeps drawing a stained glass window.” His fingers tapped against his phone. “Yes, one of the local churches has exactly the same one. I suggest that we search there first.”

 

.o0o.

 

   They crept into the church, putting their guns away when they saw no signs of hostile life. There was a rustling from behind the altar.

 

   “Charlie?” Gabriel called quietly into the stillness. “We’re not gonna hurt you, you can come out. I’m Gabriel, this is my brother Cas.”

 

   Hesitantly, a head of bright red hair peeked out, then a young woman slowly straightened up, looking at them nervously.

 

   “You’re Gabriel Shurley? And Castiel? _The_ Castiel?”

 

   Cas and Gabriel glanced at each other. Definitely psychic. “Yeah, that’s us.”

 

   “Oh my God, I can’t believe it’s you! The angels talk about you all the time, how you were in hell and how Diniel pulled you out. I heard him shout it when he reached the surface, and holy excessive volume batman was that loud!” She was staring almost worshipfully up at Cas. Well, that was just great. Gabriel might as well be invisible. First the angels, now the prophets. Then she turned to him. “They’ve been talking about you too. They don’t like you at all.” And there it was. The only time the ‘good guys’ ever noticed him was to spit on him and call him an abomination.

 

   What, bitter and cynical? Him? Nah.

 

   “So you can talk to angels?” Cas asked her awkwardly.

 

   “Oh no!” Charlie grinned winningly at him. “I just listen. They’re in my head, classic case of The Voices. I know, I’m probably going nuts. To be honest, I didn’t realise. Most of them are kind of dicks.”

 

   Okay, he took it back. Charlie was great.

 

   “So they locked you up ‘cos you were tuning in to angel radio? Why did you run away from the hospital?”

 

   Her eyes widened and she turned her smile on Gabriel. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it’s like! It’s just like a radio! I wasn’t going to leave the hospital, I figured I’d be safe there, but they found me anyway.”

 

   “Who, the demons?”

 

   “Yeah.” She shuddered.

 

   “Well, at least now we know why the demons want to get a hold of you so bad. They’d have a way to tune into the other side’s plans twenty-four seven.”

 

   “Hey, do you know if my parents are okay?” She asked them. “I didn’t want to go home, just in case I led the demons there.”

 

   “Um…” Gabriel glanced at Cas and took a deep breath, but before they had to give her the bad news the doors of the church banged open behind them and Kali stalked in.

 

   “Oh good, you got the girl. Come on, we need to leave.”

 

   Charlie started backing away with a look of wide-eyed horror. “Woah! What happened to her face?!”

 

   Gabriel held up a hand to calm her as he glanced towards Kali. “Don’t worry, she’s here to help.”

 

   “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Cas muttered. Gabriel ignored him.

 

   “We have to hurry. A demon’s coming, a nasty one. We need to go, we can fight later but not here.”

 

   Kali made to move towards Charlie, who was still looking very nervous, but Castiel stepped between them. “Excuse me if I find it a little too convenient that you turn up just when we find the girl with another demon on your tail. How do we know you didn’t lead it here?”

 

   Kali turned her most withering glance his way, and Gabriel was almost surprised that Cas didn’t burst into flames on the spot. “Because you idiots did,” she hissed, “It followed you here from the girl’s house.”

 

   Gabriel felt the air stir uneasily and looked around, drawing the knife from his jacket to cut off the bickering from the other two. “We’re too late, we’ve got company.” He turned to Charlie and gently grabbed her wrist, hurrying her ahead of himself towards a door. “Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here.”

 

   But the door didn’t lead out of the back of the church like he had hoped; instead there was just another room, probably for storage judging by the boxes. It would have to do, there was no time.

 

   “Stay here, don’t move,” He told her and she nodded, looking pale and frightened but like she was holding herself together. Glancing around, she grabbed a candlestick and tested its weight in her hands, offering Gabriel a strained grin when he gave her a thumbs up. Good, at least she was tough.

 

   He hurried back to Cas and Kali in the main body of the church. Kali caught his gaze. “You’re going to need to take this demon down right away, or we won’t stand a chance.” Gabriel nodded.

 

   “Hold on a minute,” Cas interrupted, then started to rail at her. Gabriel blocked out their bickering and took out the small hip flask that Kali had filled with her blood. He was going to need a boost for this. He took a swig, ignoring the instinctive nausea at the taste of rotten sulphur and trying not to gag as the slippery cold clots slid down his throat. Power bloomed sharp and heady in his stomach, winding through him until his skin was crawling with it, until it felt like he could knock down the whole building with just a push of his mind. He knew that that kind of power was just wishful thinking so far, but the rush was strong enough to sharpen his vision, the world seeming to slow a little as he sped up.

 

   He stoppered the hip flask and pocketed it, watching the main door and bouncing on the balls of his feet, practically vibrating where he stood. He was too full, the energy was too much, he needed to tear into something to let off a little steam.

                                                                                                                 

   Gabriel could feel the demon coming like a malicious tsunami approaching. The front door of the church slammed open and a tall man appeared, thinning dirty blonde hair combed back off his high forehead, a crooked sneer on his knife-thin face. His gaze swept the room, stopping for a second on Cas behind him and the demon’s thin lips opened in a shark-like snuggle-toothed grin, a predator spotting its prey.

 

   Well that wasn’t allowed. Gabriel thrust his hand out, palm up, and poured all of his power out towards the demon, wrapping himself around it like he had done with the others to choke the life out of them. For a second it seemed to work, the demon’s eyes flashed the milky pale that was horribly reminiscent of Lilith, and his attention snapped onto Gabriel.

 

   Then it started to go wrong. Instead of falling to his knees in a ring of burnt boards, the demon grinned, thin nostrils flaring, and shoved his loop of power off like a lion flicking off a biting fly.

 

   “Ooh, that tickled,” It drawled, smirking at him, smooth and cloying as an oil slick.

 

   Gabriel dropped his hand, panic building, and started to back away. The demon took a step forwards. “You don’t have the juice to take me on, Gabriel.”

 

   It stretched out a hand and Gabriel felt a dark loop of power seize him, dragging him forwards and flinging him hard against the wall. He hit it with a crash, his head knocking against the bricks and making his ears ring. Gaping and gasping, he tried to get his bearings as the room swam. Where was Kali? Through the blood dripping from a cut on his forehead he saw Cas pinned against a pew by the demon, who was looming over him with a look on its face like Christmas had come early.

 

   “Come on Cassie, don’t you recognise me?” it punctuated his words with a few heavy blows with its fists. Cas stared up at the thing in horror, blood trickling from his nose. “The suit’s new, I know, but we were so close in hell.”

 

   “Alastair,” Cas whispered hoarsely, voice cracking.

   

   The sound of the unbridled terror in Cas’ voice had Gabriel staggering to his feet. He crossed the room, scooping up the demon knife from where the demon had knocked it from Cas’ grip, and plunged it into the demon’s back.

 

   With any other demon, it would have been a killing blow. Alastair roared, dropping Cas to claw at the knife buried under his shoulder-blade, yellow light sparking under his skin. Gabriel grabbed Cas by the front of his trenchcoat and yanked him out of the way.

 

   “You’re going to have to do better than that,” Alistair hissed, grabbing the handle and trying to pull the blade out, the teeth of the knife sparking where they ground against bone. Gabriel wrenched his eyes away from the horrific sight to look frantically around for an escape hatch. The rear door didn’t lead outside, they knew that already; Alastair was blocking the door, so they couldn’t leave that way. He looked up at the gigantic stained glass window behind them and shrugged. Only one way out.

 

   Gabriel grabbed his brother by the shoulders and they ran straight at the window just as Alistair managed to get the knife out of his back. The last thing that Gabriel thought before they flew out of the window in a rainbow of shattered glass was to thank their lucky stars that they were only on the first floor.

 

.o0o.

 

   Alistair hadn’t tried to chase them out the window, which Gabriel was thankful for because running around with a dislocated shoulder and some nasty lacerations on his stomach would not have been fun. Limping back to their motel room had been quite enough of that.

 

   He heard the sound of Cas swilling and spitting in the bathroom. “Are you done with the stitches yet? We have to tend to your dislocated shoulder.”

 

   “Almost there,” Gabriel held his tongue between his teeth as he stitched the red, swollen lips of the deep wound at the top of his stomach closed. The sting of the needle and the tugging of the thread barely registered over the myriad of other aches and pains in the rest of his body and the deep throbbing in his skull where he had smashed into the wall. He straightened a little, wincing as his dislocated shoulder throbbed, then sighing with relief when the stitches didn’t pull too much. Doing them again was always a bummer.

 

   Cas walked into his peripheral vision, his face looking like he had gone ten rounds with Gunner Lawless, swigging straight from a bottle of whiskey. Gabriel beckoned for it.

 

   “Give me that, Cas. Medicinal purposes only.”

 

   Cas handed it over somewhat reluctantly, and Gabriel took the bottle, taking a long swig before pouring it liberally over the gash. He hissed and scrunched up his face with pain as his stomach muscles tightened of their own accord at the sting, the alcohol running pink down his skin as it washed away some of the blood from around the wound. Well, that was as close to sterilisation as they were going to get this evening. He looked down at himself.

 

   “Well, I still look like I’ve been shanked, but these stitches are pretty neat considering I did them left-handed. I could totally join a sewing club. What do you reckon, Cas?”

 

   Cas didn’t reply, scowling into the distance, thoughts obviously somewhere else. Gabriel sighed and took another deep gulp from the whiskey bottle, then stood and snapped the fingers of his good hand in front of Cas’ face. “Hellooo, earth paging Doctor Castiel! We have a patient with his _bones_ no longer in their _sockets_!”

 

   Cas shook his head to clear it and turned his scowl on Gabriel.

 

   “Come on Cassie, let’s get this thing over with. On three?”

 

   Cas nodded and braced his broad hands against Gabriel’s throbbing shoulder.

 

   “One-”

 

   Cas slammed the shoulder back into its joint with a grinding pop. Gabriel yelled and lurched away, swearing, pacing around and cradling his arm until the pain began to die down a little.

 

   Gingerly rotating his shoulder, he frowned, still a little worried about Cas. His brother was being even quieter than his usual taciturn self. Something was eating him, Gabriel could see it.

 

   “What even was that demon? The damn thing was so powerful I almost blew a fuse trying to burst it.”

 

   Cas’ lips thinned in a frown. “That was Alastair. What about Charlie? I didn’t see her after we got out of there, is she alright?”

 

   Gabriel sat down with a grunt. “Kali’s got her, I’m sure she’s fine.”

 

   Cas pressed a damp towel to the cuts on his arm and spoke through gritted teeth. “So if you’re so sure that Kali didn’t use us to snatch Charlie, then why hasn’t she called to tell us where she is?”

 

   Gabriel grabbed a cold pack and put it on his shoulder with a grimace. “Because that demon’s probably watching us right now, waiting so that we can leave a trail of breadcrumbs right back to her again. That’s why it let us go, we didn’t actually get away. We’ve gotta lay low, wait for Kali to contact us once it’s safe…”

 

   “And how’s she going to do that?”

 

   Gabriel just looked down and shook his head. Kali would figure out a way.

 

   Castiel turned to him, looking at him with his jaw working. “Why do you trust her so much?”

 

   “I told you.” Gabriel replied testily.

 

   Cas sighed. “Gabriel, I’m not trying to pick a fight. I’m trying to understand.” He came and sat tiredly on the other bed, facing Gabriel.

 

   Gabriel looked up into Cas’ dark, earnest, expectant eyes and sighed, deflating. He couldn’t keep this to himself any longer. He explained everything; the witches, nearly dying, Kali saving his ass. He even described some of the wild sex they had just to see Cas squirm a little. Everything except the demon blood. After all, that had nothing to do with why he trusted Kali so much.

 

   “Look, Cas, I was ready to die, okay? By the time Kali found me, I was pretty much suicidal. I was trying to go out with a bang. So, yeah, she kind of saved my life more than once by sticking around. She couldn’t help me bring you back, but she could do the next best thing; she’s been teaching me how to take on Lilith. That way I could at least get a bit of payback.” He kicked his heels against the bed, itching to get up and do something.

 

   A knock on the door cut through the heavy silence. “Housekeeping!”

 

   Cas shouted back. “No thank you.”

 

   “I’ve got clean towels!”

 

   Cas hesitated then heaved himself to his feet, grumbling as he limped over to the door to open it. As soon as he did a maid bustled in, thrusting the towels at Cas’ chest then walking straight over to the windows and drawing the curtains, then turned and thrust a piece of paper at Gabriel.

 

   “I’m at this address.”

 

   Gabriel blinked down at the paper then looked up at the woman again. This had to be the strangest way he’d ever been picked up. “Look, not that I don’t appreciate the offer, ma’am, but this isn’t really a good time for-”

 

   “Shut up.” She interrupted, no-nonsense. “Go now. Go through the bathroom window, don’t stop, don’t take your car. There are demons in the hallway and in the parking lot.”  


   Gabriel squinted closely at her unfamiliar features, the broad shoulders, dark skin and hair in braids. “Wait. Kali?”

 

   She rolled her eyes with impatience, like he was the slowest creature on planet earth and she was so done babysitting humans. “Yes, I’m possessing this maid for a hot minute. Sue me. My other body’s slowly rotting on the floor of the cabin with Charlie. See you when you get there. You’d better make it quick.” She managed to make that sound like a threat before glaring at them and bustling back out into the corridor, leaving Cas and Gabriel to glance at each other and make for the bathroom in her wake.

 

.o0o.

 

   The cabin was more of a barn (it always seemed to be barns recently), with a high ceiling and shadowed rafters. Kali nodded at them as they walked in, then went back to sharpening her knife, while Charlie bounced up and hurried over.

 

   “Thank god you guys are here!”

 

   “Are you alright?” Cas asked her.

 

   “Yeah. It’s just,” She glanced over her shoulder and dropped her voice to a whisper, “I know Kali saved me, but it’s kind of creepy staring at her real face. Like talking to an orc wearing a creepy people suit.”

 

   “I heard that,” Kali said without looking up from her knife. There was an awkward pause, but Gabriel didn’t think Kali was too insulted since she didn’t try to slaughter anyone.

 

   “Anyway,” Charlie continued, “Do you think I could call my parents? They must be going crazy.”

 

   Gabriel took a deep breath and sat down on a straw bale, pulling Charlie down to sit next to him. Cas edged away, more than willing to leave this to him.

 

   “Look, Charlie,” He started hesitantly, “About your parents…”

 

   “What about them?” She asked brightly.

 

   Gabriel just looked at her sadly, wondering what angle was the best to approach from, but she seemed to work out what he was trying to say from his expression. The smile melted off her face, replaced by horror and Gabriel could see tears start to shimmer in her eyes as her hands began to shake.

 

   “Wait… no, they’re not dead, they can’t be dead.”

 

   Gabriel shook his head, meeting her eyes. “Charlie, I’m so sorry. We were too late.”

 

   Her lips pressed together so hard that they turned white, but despite the obvious attempts to hold it together the tears started to trickle down her cheeks and she let out a small, hiccupping sob. Gabriel felt sorry for her; it had to be hard to have everyone tell you that you’re going crazy for months, then be attacked by demons and run away, only to be found by more crazy people and find out that your parents are dead without really understanding anything about what’s going on. He offered Charlie a hand, and she gripped it tightly as her shoulders shook.

 

   Suddenly, her head snapped up and her eyes unfocused, her tear-streaked face going tight with tension. Her grip on his hand was suddenly vice-tight.

 

   “They’re coming,” she whispered.

 

   The lights in the barn flickered, and Gabriel sprang into action.

 

   “Back room, come on, hurry!”

 

   They ran, Charlie still holding tightly to Gabriel’s hand. He led her into the small stall in the back between high piles of bales where she would at least be out of the way of the worst of the fight.

 

   “Can I do anything to help?” She asked in a tear-thick voice.

 

   “Not really, so stay here, yeah?” She took a long sniff, wiping her eyes on her sleeve and nodding emphatically before looking around with an assessing eye, obviously looking for makeshift weapons. Gabriel wished that all the would-be victims they rescued were as tough and practical as Charlie. That girl could give Kevlar a run for its money.

 

  He hurried back into the main room. Cas was grabbing weapons out of the duffel and passed over a large shotgun to him, face set in a grim expression. Kali yanked the duffel towards herself and started rummaging through it.

 

   “Where’s the demon knife?”

 

   “We lost it fighting Alastair.” Cas trained the sights of his rifle on the door.

 

   “Oh great,” Kali hissed, “Now thanks to you idiots we’re defenceless!”

 

   There was a bang from the door and they all started and stared at it, tense.

 

   There was another, louder bang, and the door was blown off its hinges with a gust of wind.

 

   Unexpectedly, two familiar silhouettes walked through the door. Dean and his hanger-on with the rage issues, Gordon, walked in under the fitful glow of the lights. Cas relaxed ever so slightly on one side of him, but Gabriel was still wary, and on his other side Kali’s eyes were a solid, glittering beetle-black. He didn’t put down his gun.

 

   “Please tell me you guys are here to help us. We’ve been having demon problems all day.”

 

   “Yes, I can see that.” Gordon’s eyes were locked onto Kali and his mouth was pulled up into a sneer. Gabriel gripped the gun tighter.

 

   “We’re here for Charlie,” Dean interrupted, his face carefully blank but his eyes locked onto Castiel’s.

 

   “Wait. ‘Here for her’ as in…?”

 

   “Stop talking.” Gordon snapped. “Give her to us.”

 

   “Are you going to try to help her?” Cas asked Dean, always the optimist.

 

   Dean’s jaw clenched. “No. Unfortunately, she has to die.”

 

   Gabriel felt Cas stiffen beside him and straightened his spine, subtly adjusting his weight. First trying to smite a town, now this. “Look, I know she’s listening in on you all discussing your dirty little angel secrets or whatever, but that’s no reason to gank her.”

 

   Gordon was smirking as though Christmas had come early. “Don’t worry, she won’t feel a thing.”

 

   Gabriel looked between the angels in disgust. “You’re some heartless sons of bitches, you know that?”

 

   “Charlie is innocent,” Cas spoke up.

 

   Dean shook his head. “No she’s not. You have no idea what she’s done.”

 

   “What the hell does that mean?” Gabriel asked.

 

   “It means that she’s worse than this abomination that you’ve been screwing. You’re a fit match.” Gordon’s mouth was turned up into a predatory smile, like he just couldn’t wait to get his smite on. “Now, give us the girl.”

 

   Dean looked shifty, like he wasn’t quite in agreement with Gordon but didn’t know what to do about it. Gabriel glanced questioningly sideways at Cas and saw agreement in his eyes. He stood up straighter, bracing himself for the inevitable fight.

 

   “Yeah, how about no. Go find someone your own size to bully.”

 

   “Who’s going to stop us? You? Or this demon whore?” Kali hissed at Gordon through her teeth. With a movement sudden as the strike of a snake Gordon reached forward, grabbing her by the throat and throwing her against a cabinet in a shower of shattered glass. Castiel and Gabriel jumped out of the way of the fight as Kali rose back to her feet and turned, fast and lithe as a cat, but Gordon was onto her, pinning her to the wall as she fought to keep his hand from touching her forehead.

 

   Dean was still hovering, indecisive, so Gabriel decided that he wasn’t the one to be concerned about and jumped into the fray. Gordon turned and caught his fist in mid-air, twisting his arm back painfully with a grin of bloody amusement, the fire of insanity burning brightly in his eyes. A cold, hard fist hit the side of Gabriel’s head like a hammer, leaving him gasping, ears ringing.

 

   “Oh, I’ve been waiting for this,” Gordon said, teeth bared in vicious pleasure as he rained down blows. Gabriel’s head snapped to the side again and he felt sticky wet warmth begin to trickle down his face, pain throbbing in his cheek and eye socket.

 

   In his peripheral vision Gabriel saw Cas drop to the ground, uninjured but unconscious, and Dean reaching for the door to the back room.

 

   The barn was suddenly illuminated by a piercing, unearthly light that stabbed at Gabriel’s eyeballs, but in his dazed state he wasn’t fast enough to close them. Gordon let go of him as though he had been burned, then he saw Gordon’s face crease up in pain as the light threw the spread shadows of broad wings, not as large as Dean’s, onto the barn wall. There was a screech, high and painful, and the angel vanished like he had been sucked into a black hole, taking the light with him.

 

   There was a heavy silence broken only by their gasping breathing as Gabriel tried to blink away the spots from his vision.

 

   “What the hell was that?” He rasped, spitting blood onto the floor and then levering himself to his feet. He checked on Castiel who stirred, blinking and grimacing, and Gabriel helped Kali upright before he staggered into the back room.

 

   “Charlie? Charlie!”

 

   The first thing he registered was the deep crimson of blood on her hands, smeared onto the wood of the desk where she was leaning, looking dazed. Gabriel ran forwards and grabbed her gently by the arm to guide her to sit on a bale, and only then did he notice the strange symbol daubed in scarlet where she had been standing.

 

   “Nice finger painting. Did you kill them?” He asked as he ripped off a strip of his shirt, his hands still trembling from the adrenaline of the fight, and tied it around her bloody forearm. Not particularly hygienic, but anything to stop the bleeding until they could rest and stitch it.

 

   “No, I just sent them away, far away.” She sounded distant, her voice a little mumbled, and Gabriel wondered how much was shock and how much was the blood loss.

 

   “Would you tell us how?” Gabriel knelt in front of her and looked up again at the strange symbol. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cas and Kali walk in through the door, Cas looking between them and then at the symbol in amazement.

 

   “I don’t know. That just popped into my head, and I did it.” She gestured at the daubed lines with a shaking hand, and Cas strode over to inspect it more closely. Gabriel turned back to Charlie.

 

   “Right, okay. We need to get you somewhere safe, now that the feathered dicks are after you too. That was a pretty neat trick with the blood, by the way. I was thinking of heading to Josh’s place. He’s one of our friends.” He looked up at Cas with an eyebrow raised, and Cas gave him a terse nod of agreement. Kali helped Charlie to her feet with more strength than her small stature suggested she should have had and started to lead her out, but Gabriel hung back, catching the sleeve of Cas’ trench coat.

 

   “What do you think?” He muttered to him.

 

   “Well, the defensive blood spell was unexpected,” Cas replied. “And I don’t know what the angels meant that she wasn’t innocent. She’s obviously involved in something.”

 

   “Yeah, and it doesn’t seem as simple as them wanting her for the whole radio thing.” Gabriel sighed and stuck his hand into his coat pocket, relieved when he found a sweet in there. What? He needed the sugar.

 

   “I mean, that blood spell? I’ve never seen anything like that, and I’ve been drawing symbols with various bodily fluids since I was eight.” He paused with unwrapping the sweet. “Damn, that sounded wrong.” He popped the sweet into his mouth.

 

   “I’ll go to Joshua’s with Charlie, if you would find out some more information,” Cas said, making for the door. “Maybe break into the library, the one in the last town had a decent section on religious imagery and mythology.”

 

   “The apocalypse is definitely coming if you’re suggesting stealing books. But yeah, hitting up the library is probably a good idea,” Gabriel sighed at the thought of trying to research while avoiding angels and demons and committing yet more crime. “We should learn as much as we can about what’s going down. I can smell a shitstorm coming.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel bustled into Josh’s house, yelling down the stairs to the panic room for Cas as he went, then dropping the heavy books onto the table with a sigh of relief.

 

   “What did you find?” Cas asked, striding in through the open door.

 

   “How’s Charlie?” Gabriel asked, ignoring Cas’ question.

 

   “She’s alright, a bit shaky still but she’s resting. She says that there’s nothing on angel radio, which seems a bit suspicious to me.” Cas frowned down at the books, running a finger over a print of a woodcut. “So I’m glad Kali gave us some hex bags to protect against angels as well as demons. I got a phone call from Joshua, he’s gone away somewhere to help with a rogue gryphon so we won’t see him for the next few days at least. He said to tell you that if we drink all the liquor, we pay for it.”

 

   “Well, damn. There go my plans for getting totally shitfaced to avoid dealing with this mess,” Gabriel sighed, shuffling the papers. “Here, I’ve looked into her family. Parents are completely normal, not secretly ancient witches or anything like that. I had a look into her psyche evaluation, though, and apparently it wasn’t her first one. When she was about two and a half, she went hysterical every time her dad got close, kept saying he wasn’t her real father. Also, that her _real_ father was mad with her, like crazy, psycho, wanted-to-kill-her mad.” He turned the page, flipping through the notes. “After that, she saw a kid psychiatrist, got over the delusions and grew up completely normal.”

 

   “Until now. I wonder what’s happening to her?”

 

   “Well, you could just ask me to my face.” Charlie was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, an unimpressed expression on her face, and Kali stood inspecting her nails behind her.

 

   “You’re right Charlie,” Gabriel turned to her apologetically. “We should have asked. The angels said you were guilty of something. Do you know what it is?”

 

   Charlie sighed. “Not a clue. Look, I want to know what’s going on as much as you guys do.”

 

   Gabriel nodded, determined. “Right. Then let’s find out. And I think I know who we need to talk to first.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel heard the rumble of tires on gravel from down in the panic room and sat up in the chair he had been slumped in. Charlie looked up from the comic book that he had given her from his old stash under Josh’s spare bed, and they waited until they heard footsteps descending the metal stairs to the basement.

 

   Gabriel grinned, standing up to greet the visitor that Cas was helping carefully down the steps. “Hannah! Nice of you to join us.”

 

   Hannah turned to face him, a soft smile on her lips, eyes obscured by dark shades. “Gabriel! Good to know my favourite customers are staying out of trouble. And you must be Charlie.” She turned unnervingly in the direction where Charlie was standing awkwardly and walked towards her. She held out her hands in invitation and Charlie took them hesitantly. “Charlie, I’m Hannah. Castiel over there told me what’s going on, and I’m here to help.”

 

   Charlie’s worried expression seemed to soften a little with relief, and Gabriel was suddenly glad that they’d decided to get the other woman involved with this.

 

   Before long they were back in the panic room with Charlie lying on the cot, Hannah giving instructions on what she was going to do to try to get some information from Charlie’s subconscious.

 

   “Right, I’m going to put you into a state of deep hypnosis, okay? Just relax.” She took a deep breath. “Five, four, three, two… one.”

 

   Gabriel watched in fascination as Charlie relaxed entirely, her body losing tension and sinking into the lumpy cot as though it was a water bed in a five-star hotel.

 

   “Can you hear me?” Hannah asked quietly, calmly.

 

   “I can hear you,” Charlie replied.

 

   “Alright Charlie, I want you to tell me; how you hear the angels? How did you work that spell?”

 

   “I don’t know, I just did it.” Charlie’s voice was soft, like she was speaking from far away.

 

   Hannah pursed her lips, then changed tack. “Alright. What’s your father’s name?”

 

   “Robert Bradbury.”

 

   “Alright, but I want you to look further back, back when you were very young, just a few years old.”

 

   Charlie tossed her head sideways against the pillow, suddenly agitated. “No, don’t wanna, don’t make me,” she started muttering fitfully. Gabriel shifted slightly.

 

   “You’ll be okay, Charlie, just relax. Just one look, that’s all we need.”

 

   “No. No.”

 

   “Tell me. What’s your dad’s name, your real dad? Why is he angry at you?” Charlie was tossing more now, her hands clenching and unclenching restlessly.

 

  “No. No, no!” Her voice rose to a panicked shout. “No, no, he’s going to kill me!” Gabriel frowned and stepped forwards, concerned. This wasn’t the easy information that he had been expecting.

 

   “Charlie, stay calm, Charlie? Charlie, focus on my voice, you’re safe.”

 

   Charlie sat bolt upright on the cot and the heavy metal door of the panic room swung shut with a deafening _clang_ , the bulb above then fizzing and sparking as she screamed high and terrified.

 

   Cas reached out to her, ignoring Hannah’s warning of “No, don’t!”, and was sent flying across the room, hitting the metal wall with a thump. Gabriel ran over to him as Hannah bent over Charlie, speaking hurriedly, “Waking up in three, two, one-”

 

   Charlie drew in a deep breath and calmed, her eyelids slowly fluttering open as she looked around the wrecked room in bewilderment.

 

   “Are you alright?” Hannah asked her quietly.

 

   Charlie sat up slowly, the confusion clearing from her face. “Thanks, Hannah. That helped a lot. I remember now.”

 

   Gabriel flashed a glance sideways at Cas, who was slowly getting to his feet, looking as confused and wary as he was. “Remember what?”

 

   Charlie turned and gave him a small smile. “Who I am.”

 

   “And who’s that?”

 

   “I’m an angel. My name is Chariel.”

 

   There was a heavy silence in the room as they all stared at her. Hannah drew back slowly, her face going blank and stony. Gabriel could practically feel the intensity of Cas’ stare beside him, and his mind was buzzing. An angel? No, she couldn’t be. Charlie was human, he had felt the living warmth of her skin, so different from the hard, cold marble that he had felt when Gordon grabbed him. But then what about the sparking lights and the telekinesis? And how did she know that blood spell?

 

   “Oh no, I’m not like them,” Charlie said quickly, holding her hands up. “Well…”

 

   “So Dean and Gordon came after you? Did you know them?” Gabriel asked.

 

   “Oh, that’s who they were? Well, yeah I did. We were all kind of in the same boat, kind of.”

 

   “So, what, they were your bosses or something?”

 

   Charlie snorted. “Try the other way round. Hey, can we go upstairs? This bed is killing my back.” Cas nodded and walked forward to help Hannah up. Charlie levered herself off the bed and made her way towards the door with more grace than she had been moving around with before, walking past a confused looking Kali. Gabriel couldn’t blame her for wanting to get out of the basement.

 

   “So now your previous subordinates want to kill you,” Cas put in as they climbed the stairs, “Why?”

 

   “I’m sure I’ve got a death sentence on my head.” Charlie walked into the living room and the rest of them trailed in behind her, sitting on the ancient couches or perching on the old table. Kali and Hannah were still on edge, Cas glancing at Gabriel every few seconds as though he wasn’t sure what to do. Gabriel kept his eyes fixed on Charlie.

 

   “Why?”

 

   “I disobeyed, which for one of us is just about the worst thing you can do. I fell.”

 

   “Meaning?” Gabriel asked.

 

   Hannah turned towards him. “She means she fell to earth, became human.”

 

   “Wait, so angels can just become human?”

 

   Charlie smiled down at her hands, twisting in her lap. “Not ‘just’. It kind of really hurts. Like trying to cut out your own kidney with a butter knife. Then there’s the whole, you know, disobeying God thing, so it’s about as appealing as jumping into an alligator pit.” She chuckled self depreciatingly. “I ripped out my Grace. I hacked it out and fell, got reborn as a little miracle baby.”

 

   “So you just forgot everything? All the stuff about being God’s little power ranger?”

 

   Charlie shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. The older I got, the longer I was human, the deeper it got buried.”

 

   Kali interrupted, her face taut with tension. “I don’t think any of you are appreciating how screwed we are.”

 

   Charlie nodded. “Yeah, she’s right, heaven wants me dead.”

 

   “And hell just wants her. A flesh and blood angel that they can torture, that bleeds.” Kali’s eyes were dark and grim. “Sooner or later, one side is going to find her. And when they do it’s not going to be pretty.”

 

   “That’s why I’ve got to get it back. My Grace,” Charlie explained, when they looked confused.

 

   “You can do that?” Castiel asked.

 

   She nodded and shrugged. “As long as I can find it, yeah.”

 

   “Alright then,” Gabriel rubbed his hands together. “As long as you’re on board, let’s get cracking. Do you have any idea where it might be?”

 

   “No, I lost track of it. I was falling at about a thousand miles an hour at the time.”

 

   “Wait, you mean falling like literally? As in, jumped-without-a-parachute falling?”

 

   Charlie shrugged. “Well yeah.”

 

   The realisation struck him like a shooting star. “So you were falling so you could be seen by the human eye? Like a comet, or a meteor?”

 

   Charlie’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, maybe!”

 

   Gabriel jumped off the table and gestured everyone over to where he had spread out all the information he had found about her family. “While I was researching you, I also looked for stuff in the local area, you know, omens and UFO sightings and things like that. Anyway, look here,” He pointed to an old newspaper clipping. “In March ’85, a meteorite vanished in the sky over western Ohio. That’s nine months before you were born and it’s the right place, yes? That must have been you.”

 

   “Yeah,” she breathed. “I was a shooting star, this is so cool.”

 

   “And look, on the same night,” Cas pulled up an astrological record on his computer, “A meteorite was also spotted over Kentucky. That could be your Grace.”

 

   “Well, that just narrows it down to an entire state.” As usual, Kali didn’t sound particularly impressed, but Gabriel could hear the subtle tone of hope under it.

 

   “All we have to do is look for weird shit in Kentucky around that date. Hey, Charlie? Any particular flavour of weird shit we should be looking for?”

 

   “Not really, just anything that looks miraculous.” She was sounding excited now, hope that they might all get out of this pushing them on.

 

   “I think this calls for a celebration, don’t you? Who wants a beer?” Gabriel smiled at the enthusiastic agreements and headed for the kitchen as everyone bustled around, pulling out their laptops or books to research.

 

   As he was walking out of the room, he felt something stronger than him drag him sideways. He stumbled, pulling his knife halfway out of his pocket before he realised who it was.

 

   “Damn it, Kali,” He huffed. Then he noticed warily how agitated she looked.

 

   Her eyes darted around as though she was considering running. “I wish I’d never lead you to this.”

 

   “Yeah, well, you know us. We don’t care if we lose a few limbs ‘cos we got too close to enraged angels and demons. We’ll muddle through.”

 

   “No you won’t.” She glared at him sharply. “You don’t want to get between these armies, Gabriel. They’ll crush you like an ant and they wouldn’t even notice. If one side doesn’t get you, the other one will.”

 

   “So what do you want us to do? Dump Charlie and run?” Gabriel whispered fiercely back. “I’m tired of running. Not gonna happen.”

 

   “You say that every time, and you always end up running anyway.” She pinned him to the wall, an arm hard across his chest, and snarled into his face. “And do you know why? It’s because you’re smart. Running means being alive to fight again another day. Be smart this time, Gabriel.”

 

   He shoved her off him, anger bubbling up. “Not this time. I can’t. I need to protect Charlie. Besides, I’m not afraid of angels.”

 

   “You should be,” She hissed, “But I’m more scared of Alastair.”

 

   He glanced at her in surprise. He couldn’t imagine Kali being afraid of anything, never mind admitting to it.

 

   “He’s practically the grand inquisitor downstairs, Picasso with a razor. You need to yank him out of that meatsuit and send him back to the pit. You would have done it already if you weren’t so out of shape.”

 

   “Kali-”

 

   “No,” She hissed, getting up in his face again, “Your abilities are getting flabby.”

 

   “Yeah, well excuse me if I don’t fancy getting back in shape. Jogging will keep me fit, but at what cost?” He dropped the joke. “I’m not going back to that. No more blood drinking.”

 

   “Gabriel-”

 

   He whipped around. “I said no.”

 

   Kali’s eyes narrowed. “Well then, you’d better pray that Charlie gets her powers back, or we’re all dead.”

 

   She stalked off, leaving Gabriel rubbing his bruised arm and scowling after her.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel wandered out into Josh’s scrap yard to look for Charlie. He didn’t have to go far.

 

   She was sitting on the dusty ground under one of the scraggly trees, propped on her elbows looking up at the sky, long legs stretched out in front of her. She looked up and grinned briefly at him as Gabriel dropped down next to her, the moonlight washing the colour out of her green eyes and lighting them silver so that they almost seemed to glow. She looked angelic already under the moon’s doleful gaze.

 

   “You okay out here?”

 

   She turned back to look at the stars. “Yeah, just a lot to take in, that’s all. It’s been a long day.” Gabriel remembered that she had just lost her parents. No matter how well she looked like she was coping, inside she probably wasn’t, angel or not. But if there was one coping method he could respect it was avoiding the subject entirely, so he just watched the stars with her for a minute.

 

   “Cas’ gone to take Hannah back. After our last run in with angels, this was a little bit too much excitement.”

 

   “I don’t blame her. You guys should do that too, get going before the rest arrive.”

 

   “Yeah, well, we’re not that smart.” Gabriel grinned, teeth reflecting white, then turned to face her. “Hey, Charlie, why would you fall? Why the hell would you want to be down here with us miserable bastards? Eating, crapping, afraid, confused all the time, social awkwardness…”

 

   “Don’t sell yourselves short, there’s plenty of awesome stuff about humanity.”

 

   “Oh yeah, like what? I swear, if you say the power of love-”

 

   She punched him lightly on the arm. “Hell yeah, love! What about loyalty? Friendship? Technology? Star Wars?”

 

   “The prequels. Pain. The flu.” Gabriel fired back.

 

   “Chocolate cake. Sex. Belladonna,” She sighed dreamily.

 

   “Oh yeah, Belladonna,” Gabriel sighed as well, then chuckled. “She made a wonderful porn star. Yeah, I suppose sex is probably one of humanity’s greatest assets.”

 

   “I mean it, Gabriel. Emotions are incredible, even the bad ones. They’re all so… vital. It beats being an angel. Cold. No choice, only obedience.” She breathed the cool night air in deeply. “That’s why I fell. That’s why so many of my brethren have fallen, even the higher seraphs like Samuel. That’s why…” Her voice dropped in a sigh, and although she had turned her face away Gabriel could hear the quiet sadness in her voice. “If I had any choice, I wouldn’t go back.”

 

   Gabriel lay back, resting his hands on his stomach. “Well, heaven’s sounding a little less like paradise and a little more like the Third Reich every minute. Gotta say, it’s not exactly filling me with hope for a better place when I finally snuff it. I’m sorry we’re making you go back. If we had any choice, we’d just leave you to it.”

 

   She nodded. “I was stationed on earth for two thousand years just watching humanity for an absent father, and I’ve learnt more about being human in the last twenty two years than I did in all that time. Like seriously, Lord of the Rings is epic, how did I never notice that before?”

 

   Charlie lay down fully next to him and they were quiet for a minute, only the occasional cricket breaking the silence. The stars shone with their cold, distant light, and Gabriel thought of angels watching the earth for centuries, all alone. An owl hooted softly in the distance.

 

   Gabriel turned his head sideways to look at her profile. “I came out here to tell you I found something. The morning after that meteor in Kentucky a fully grown oak tree just appeared, bam, in the middle of this farmer’s field. Does that sound like the kind of crazy we’re looking for?”

 

  Charlie nodded, her mouth twisting into a rueful smile. “Yeah, growth, creation. That sounds about right. I’m sensing a disturbance in the force!”

 

   “Well, we’ll set off when Cas gets back,” Gabriel grinned and lay back again. They weren’t in a hurry.

 

.o0o.

 

   “Look at that, Cas, there’s an angel and a demon in the back seat. No wonder I can’t tell what’s real and not anymore. It’s like the set up to a bad joke. Or a porn intro.”

 

   Castiel managed to scowl at him without taking his eyes off the road. “Gabriel, that is inappropriate.”

 

   Kali just gave him her most withering glare and went back to staring sulkily out of the window, while Charlie bit her lip and gave Kali a considering glance out of the corner of her eye. Gabriel caught the look in the mirror and offered her a wink and a thumbs-up, and in the dim light Charlie blushed as red as her hair.

 

   It was dawn before they reached the field in Kentucky, Gabriel directing Cas from the passenger seat around a maze of country lanes before they ended up at the overgrown gateway to a large, grassy field on the edge of a woodland. And right in the middle of the field was an oak tree, towering tall above all the others, its gnarled trunk easily wide enough to be two hundred years old. In the new light it looked fresh, vital, alive and thriving, as though there was an extra spark in it somehow.

 

   “Yes,” Charlie whispered, “That’s it.”

 

   It felt right to whisper somehow, in the presence of something so vast and pure. “It’s beautiful,” Gabriel murmured. He reached out and put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Are you ready for this?”

 

   “Not really,” She said.

 

   They approached the tree and Charlie reached out a hand and hesitated. Gabriel squinted his eyes, anticipating the piercing angelic light, but nothing happened. Charlie frowned.

 

   “It’s not here. It’s gone. Someone’s taken it.”

 

   Suddenly her head snapped back, her eyes going blank again, listening. The others tensed. “The angels are speaking again. It’s like a loop this time. They keep saying that… if you don’t hand me over by midnight, then… they’ll throw Castiel back down to perdition.”

 

   They all looked at Cas in horror, and Gabriel saw a look of unbridled panic before he got his poker face under control.

 

   “Let’s head back to the panic room.”

 

   “What, so we can hide out there forever?” Kali snapped.

 

   “Just until we can think of something else,” Cas growled, “We should call Joshua back, we need help. We have nothing that will kill an angel, we can’t even hurt them. And that’s not even counting in the demons. We need to lie low until we actually have something.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel walked through the barn, feet scuffing against the floor.  He was anxious, but he couldn’t remember why. A light haze of fog filled the space, softening outlines and obscuring the corners of the room, where dark shadows seemed to gather at the bottom of the walls. He looked up, and instead of the dusty rafters he saw the stars, hanging low. The air was cold and still and unnaturally silent. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, uneasy.

 

   Wait! There was a hint of movement, right in the corner of his eye. Gabriel squinted, warily stepping forwards, and there it was again!

 

   He froze, neither of them moving as they observed each other. It was a silhouette, tall and dark, watching him. The profile looked a little familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

 

   “Aw, it’s so cute when the monkeys wear clothes.”

 

   The sudden voice from behind him made him jump and whirl around. Gordon was standing in the middle of the floor, the usual sneer on his face, looking more solid than the rest of Gabriel’s surroundings. Gabriel turned his head back, but the silhouette had vanished back into the fog.

 

   “I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”

 

   “Well, since you insist on hiding like cowardly rats, this is the only way that we can contact you.”

 

   So angels could walk in dreams? Interesting. “Don’t often see you off the leash. Where’s your master, little doggy?”

 

   Gordon gave a small, icy smile. “He’s not here. You see, he has this weakness. He likes you. Well, not you specifically. He likes your brother.”

 

   “Yeah, I wondered what all that super intense eye contact was about.”

 

   “Why don’t you hand over the girl? We’ve got her Grace after all.”

 

   Gordon pulled out a tiny vial, glowing with bright light.

 

   Gabriel’s eyes widened, but he stayed calm. “Why not just re-angelfy her? Why’s it always gotta be the smiting with you guys?”

 

   “She committed a serious crime. Give us the girl, or we’ll toss your brother back into perdition. And you? You’re disposable. There won’t even be dust.” Gordon grinned, like he was looking forward to it.

 

   “You’re bluffing. You might want to kill me, but you need Cas.”

 

   Gordon’s eyes were stone cold. “Try me. Now, tell me where she is.”

 

………

 

   Gabriel woke with a jolt.

 

   “Guys. I have an idea.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Cas was pacing the length of the barn. Gabriel watched his progress across the floor from where he was sitting beside Charlie. Despite his stoic expression, Gabriel could tell that he was freaking out. The angels’ threat to send him back to hell was affecting him.

 

   “I don’t like this. Where’s Kali?”

 

   Gabriel shook his head, not answering him. He didn’t know, and it was starting to worry him too.

 

   The doors blew open in a gust of cold air and the unmistakable sharp, charged scent of angels arriving. They all jumped up, grouping together, Gabriel moving in front of Charlie.

 

   “How did you find us?” Castiel demanded, scowling at Dean.

 

   Dean glanced at Gabriel, and Cas looked at him too. Gabriel felt guilt twist his insides tight, even knowing that this was all part of the plan.

 

   “Gabriel, you didn’t. How could you?”

 

   Cas started forwards, feigned fury plain on his face, but Charlie held him back with a slim hand on his shoulder, looking up at him beseechingly. “No, Cas, it’s fine. I forgive him. They probably threatened you, that’s how these sons of orcs work,” She was speaking to Castiel, but she glanced over at Gabriel as she said, “Anyway, we can’t run forever. No one can.”

 

   She stepped out into the no-man’s land between the humans and the angels, hands held out to the side. “Come on, then. Take me to your leader.”

 

   Gordon looked borderline delighted, but for once Dean wasn’t staring at Cas, his eyes fixed on Charlie with a conflicted expression.

 

   “Chariel, I’m sorry about this. But-”

 

   She interrupted. “Orders are orders, I know. Let’s just get it over with.”

 

   Before Dean could take a step forward, a nasal voice sounded from the other side of the room.

 

   “Don’t you dare touch her.”

 

   Gabriel felt his stomach drop. Alastair strode forwards, his beady eyes locked onto the angels and a smirk on his face. Behind him, two thugs with glittering beetle-black eyes threw Kali forwards onto her knees on the floor. “Just give her to us. We’ll make sure she’s punished good and proper,” Alastair wheedled, and Gabriel felt his stomach turn.

 

   Gordon was looking at the newcomers with open disgust. “What are you scum-sucking bottom feeders doing here?

 

   Alastair didn’t look particularly cowed. “Calling names, are we? Ouch. That hurt my tender feelings. You sanctimonious, fanatical prick.” He smirked and Gordon snarled back, eyes flashing. Gabriel yanked Charlie backwards, out of the way of the brewing fight.

 

   There was an oppressive silence, the calm before the storm.

 

   Then the violence erupted. Gordon lunged first, wrapping a hand around the forehead of one of Alastair’s lackeys. The demon’s screams filled the barn as bright white light poured out of its eyes. Dean swung his fist forwards Alastair, but to Gabriel’s surprise the demon was too fast for the angel. Ducking under his arm, Alastair fisted a hand into Dean’s collar, lifting him off his feet then slamming him onto the ground.

 

   Alastair’s long, pale fingers wrapped around Dean’s throat and began to squeeze. “Hello Diniel,” Alastair sneered over the sound of Dean’s choking. “Remember the time I got my hands on you down in the pit before you got to Cassie over there?” Gabriel thought he might have actually seen the angel flinch, but a second later Cas was barrelling past him like an enraged bull, aiming for Alistair as Gordon tackled the second demon.

 

   Alastair turned to meet Cas with a sneer, but on the other side of the fight Charlie picked up the vial of Grace that had come out of Gordon’s pocket. She flung it on the ground, and although the small shattering sound was quiet, it drew the eyes of everyone in the room.

 

   Where the vial had exploded into shards, there was a small glowing skein of light, writhing up into the air. It expanded, and Gabriel could almost feel it spreading out, like hot breath from an open mouth washing over him. The hairs on his body stood up and all his blood-given powers were suddenly screaming to _get away, get away right the fuck now_!

 

   The light looped up, blue-white and beautiful, and poured itself into Charlie’s open mouth. Once it was all inside she staggered and fell to her knees, burning light seeping from her nose, her mouth, shining from between her ribs. Great piercing shards rose from her arching back as though the Grace was forcing its way out of her, too big to be contained in such a fragile human vessel.

 

   She pushed herself back to her feet and Gabriel tried to move towards her, but she held a vibrating hand up to hold him back, her eyes wild, a ring of light shining around the pupils. “No, back, stay back! Cover your eyes!” By the last word her voice wasn’t Charlie’s, rising into high, painful whine, deep undertones vibrating through the foundations of the barn.

 

   Gabriel closed his eyes just in time. Light and heat exploded out from where Charlie had been standing, washing over him with a shriek. Even with his eyes closed and an arm in front of his face it was blinding. For half a second he felt warmth brush against him, faint laughter, the smell of summer and sun.

 

   Then it was all gone and the barn was still and quiet.

 

   Blinking the spots out of his eyes, Gabriel looked around at Kali and Cas, who were sprawled across the floor or hay bales just like he was. There was no sign of the angels, or Alastair.

 

   Gabriel raised a tired fist and punched the air, laughing slightly hysterically. “Cassie, you’re a tactical genius! I promise not to mock your plans again, for at least another week. Gotta say, I didn’t think just letting them fight it out would work, but you proved me wrong, bro.” Cas staggered over to help him up.

 

   “Oh, don’t help me, I’ve only been captured and tortured today to lead Alistair here,” Kali grumbled, getting herself to her feet. “I’m going before you two manage to get us into any more life threatening situations.” She glared at them both before vanishing with a small pop.

 

   Gabriel reached up to sling an arm over Cas’ shoulders as they limped out of the barn together.

 

   “Do you think Charlie’s alright?” Cas asked him.

 

   Gabriel sighed, looking up at the stars. They blinked coldly back at him. “I doubt it. But at least she’s still alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments welcome!


	9. Rotten Apples

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of On the head of a pin. Prepare yourselves for pain and torture. Or, as I like to call it, business as usual.

   Hannah’s funeral was a miserable affair, but that wasn’t exactly surprising. It was hard to find a silver lining when your friends were being murdered by demons while trying to stop apocalyptic seals from breaking. They were silent while they drove back, the atmosphere generally grim, and by the time they got back to the motel they were both a simmering mix of tired, sad and angry.

 

   So pretty much the last thing Gabriel wanted to see when he turned on the light in the motel room was the angels.

 

   “You.”

 

   “You’ve got a nerve, showing up now,” Cas growled. “Hannah died for one of your precious seals.”

 

   Gordon stepped forwards, and unusually Dean hung back, face hidden in the shadows. “You should watch the way you talk to us, ape.”

 

   Cas’ eyes were dark with anger. “No, you should watch the way you talk to us! I refuse to be pushed around anymore like pawns in your game. We’re done.”

 

   “Actually, I don’t think you are. You’re going to do something for us.

 

   Finally, Dean stepped forwards, but he still wasn’t meeting Cas’ eyes, which was weird because all the other times that he’d seen them together Gabriel had thought that Dean might not actually have noticed that the rest of them were there, they were so wrapped up in each other. “We have a… problem. Something’s been killing angels. We’re assuming it’s the demons, and they’re targeting our garrison. There have been seven deaths in the last week, and we need to find out who’s behind it.”  

 

   “We have Alistair.” Gordon added.

 

   The silence in the room was immediately tense.

 

   “So? Why is he still alive?” Gabriel asked. “I thought that you guys were dying to get your smite on. Have a slaughter around the campfire, deal with your rage issues the good old fashioned bloody way.”

 

   Gordon smiled condescendingly. “I would love to, but we need information. We’ve already tried to get him to talk, but we seem to have reached an impasse. And as it turns out, you, Castiel, happen to be the most qualified… information extractor that we’ve got.”

 

   Gabriel couldn’t believe his ears, and apparently Cas couldn’t either. “What? You want me to torture him? You can’t be serious.” His voice was rough with repressed emotion. “No. No way. You can sort your own problems, you’re angels, don’t involve us.”

 

   Dean made to move forwards. “Look, Cas I understand how this must be difficult…” He trailed off and Gabriel caught the significant glance Gordon shot at Dean. Wait, was that fear in Dean’s eyes? Dean was Gordon’s superior, right?

 

   Dean stepped back and turned away, but Gabriel could tell from the shifting shadows across his face that he was clenching his teeth tightly enough that he would have needed dentistry if angels weren’t nigh on indestructible. He still wasn’t looking at Cas.

 

   Gordon rounded on Cas again. “You’re going to do this. We raised you for our purposes. It is time to start paying back your debt.”

 

   Gabriel saw a muscle in Cas’ jaw jump as he flicked a glance at Dean before glaring darkly at Gordon. “No. I won’t do this. You can’t ask me to do this.”

 

   Gordon smiled nastily. “Who said anything about asking?” he reached out and before either of them could react, grabbed the sleeve of Cas’ trench coat.

 

   With a beating of wings and a stir of air, Cas and the angels vanished. Looking around wildly, Gabriel confirmed that they were gone. He was alone.

 

   “Fuck! Seriously, fuck this shit!” He yelled at the top of his voice. Someone banged loudly on the flimsy hotel wall and he swore back at them as well before stomping over to the bed. It was time to call in the cavalry.

 

.o0o.

 

   Kali barged in half an hour later without knocking. Gabriel stopped pacing and turned, arms crossed over his chest, getting right to the point.

 

   “About time you got here. Look, the angels got to Cas, they’re gonna make him torture Alastair.”

 

   Kali shrugged, irritated by his bad mood. “I can’t see why you’re complaining. Alastair dies, you get revenge for your little angel friend, the angels find out who’s killing off their garrison, everyone’s happy. So what if your darling little brother gets a little stab-happy on the way?”

 

   “No, I can’t let them do that to him! I’m not gonna let those fucking angels push us around like pawns again, it’s gonna rip him apart! What’s more, he _can’t_ do it. I know Cas, he hasn’t got it in him to get the job done.” _He’s not as vicious as he needs to be, not as heartless as I am_ , was what Gabriel didn’t say. Gabriel had a mean streak a mile wide, and he knew it. That was fine. He got along well with his mean streak. He was a hunter, and he knew how to use it. But one thing that Cas had never been was cruel, and Gabriel knew that if those damned angels made him into that it would break him.

 

   “Well, I can find him for you if it’ll get you to stop whining. Grab a map.” She said reluctantly, clearing the table.

 

   They laid it out flat, then Kali struck a match, holding it over the paper as ancient, powerful words rolled off her tongue.

 

   She dropped the match and the map caught fire, burning more quickly than was natural. Gabriel fidgeted, glancing up at the smoke alarm on the ceiling, but Kali waved a manicured hand at him. “Relax, the fire is our friend.”

 

   When the flames died down only a tiny square of paper remained, the edges crisped by the heat. Kali squinted at the thin lines of ink. “You’re in luck, they only took him across town.”

 

   Gabriel started to grab his stuff, hoisting the duffels onto his shoulder. “I’d better get going then.” Looking at the blackened table, he sighed. This was why they never got their deposit back.

 

   Kali snorted. “So, what are you going to do? Even if you do find them and get there, are you just going to watch from the side-lines? Because we both know you’re not strong enough to take Alastair on yourself.”

 

   Gabriel nodded reluctantly, putting down the duffels. “Yeah, I know I’m not strong enough now.” He hesitated. She was right, but… “But I could be.” He pushed down his misgivings about using the demon blood again. This was the only way to save Cas.

 

   Kali caught on to what he was saying and raised a sardonic eyebrow. “Wow, this really was a blood booty call. You really know how to make a girl feel wanted, Gabriel.”

 

   He winked at her, turning up the charm, and sidling up into her space. “You know you love me really.”

 

   She eyed him. “No I don’t.” But Gabriel could see the smirk hidden just behind her poker face.

 

   There was a drawn out, metallic snick as Kali slid her knife from the holster in her thigh. Without looking, still keeping her dark eyes locked onto Gabriel’s, she drew the blade across her forearm. Dark blood beaded after it, then welled up and started to dribble over her skin, trickling down towards her wrist, glistening like rubies in the light. He could smell it now, the revolting metallic tang from every vampire’s lair and morgue and slaughterhouse, but a dark part of him stirred, hungering for it and the sharp bite of magic on the back of his tongue.

 

   Before he could register anything else, Kali’s arm was in his hands and his lips were wrapped around it. The blood was hot on his tongue and down his throat, the spark so much more intense than he remembered, and the darkness in him roared loud enough to drown out the part of him that was writhing in his chest, the universe whiting out with power and pleasure as he sucked harder, greedy.

 

   He was lost to it, overwhelmed; when Kali pulled her arm away he tried to chase it, whining, but she held him off with a laugh. He realised what he was doing and shook his head, trying to clear the buzz of power that was blurring everything else.

 

   He drew himself upright, staggering for a second before he got his balance, the world expanding before his eyes. He felt like he could crush mountains, take on God himself. Alastair wasn’t going to know what hit him. “I reckon I’m ready now.”

 

   Kali nodded, looking satisfied as she healed her arm. “Yes, that should do it.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Dean stood outside the room, listening to the unholy screaming coming from within, and clenched his jaw. He would have given, hell, _anything_ to be able to step in there and pull Cas out, just like he had done in the pit. Despite the thick walls between them he could feel Cas’ soul cringing, crying out even as he cut into the creature that he hated most in the entire universe. Castiel might have been brought up as a soldier, but he was a good man. A righteous man. He knew when what he had been asked to do was wrong.

 

   And so did Dean.

 

   He had had misgivings about this whole setup from the start; he hated having to ask Castiel to do this, hated more that Gordon had threatened him into it. But what with Gordon also threatening to tell the powers that be about his growing sympathies for his charge, and his personal history with disobedience, there hadn’t been much to do but clench his jaw and let it happen.

 

   He felt a Grace approaching and the sound of wings filled the room and he scowled. He had thought that Gordon had gone to seek revelation. But when he turned reluctantly he was shocked to see that it was Chariel standing behind him. He reached for his angel blade, keeping his eyes fixed on the red haired vessel. He should have been trying to bring her in, to bring her to justice, but all he wanted was to scream at her to run. She couldn’t be here. Not with Gordon so close.

 

   “Why are you here, Chariel? Or is it Charlie now?” He asked aggressively.

 

   “You’re one to talk, _Dean_ ,” Charlie grinned cheekily, then fidgeted a little.

 

   Dean waited. Charlie wasn’t stupid; she knew that she was being hunted by heaven, and she knew the price that was on her head. She wouldn’t have surfaced unless there was something important.

 

   “Look, Dean, I came here because I thought you might need some advice.”

 

   That wasn’t what he had been expecting. “Why the hell would I want advice?”

 

   “Because I saw the way you were looking at Cas when you were after me. Because I was watching you just now. I know you, Dean, you were practically my handmaiden for centuries. You know that this is wrong, Dean.”

 

   Dean shook his head in denial. “No, it can’t be wrong. These orders come straight from heaven, from our Father.”

 

   Charlie stepped closer, her green eyes boring into his. “Do you really think so, Dean? Would our father ever ask one of his most beloved creations to torture something? This is the whole reason that I decided to fall in the first place. And are you even sure that these orders are even coming from Father? Only four angels ever saw God, and neither of us were one of them. It’s been a very long time since anyone’s actually seen dear old dad.”

 

   Dean frowned down at the table. “What are you saying? That these orders aren’t his Will?”

 

   “Yeah. So I’d say that what you’re considering is less disobeying and more… taking initiative.” She laid her hand on his, her pale, delicate fingers a contrast to Dean’s vessel’s calloused ones. “Don’t worry. I know, it’s scary at first, especially after what happened to Sam. Free will is terrifying. And it never gets any easier. But the freedom is worth it. ”

 

   He looked up at her, his instincts warring inside him, the ingrained impulse to **obey** (Strapped down to the table with the needle hovering over him like divine judgement, can’t think of Sam, don’t think of Sam) fighting his sense of justice.

 

   Finally, his will to do the right thing won out, and he deflated with a sigh. He had suspected that there was something rotten in heaven for some time, and now that Charlie had laid out all the evidence in front of him it was obvious. What was he going to do about Gordon, though? He had no desire to be dragged back to heaven again for disobedience. He had to play this very carefully.

 

   He felt the crackle of approaching Grace again, definitely Gordon’s this time, and he impulsively reached forwards and embraced Charlie. She returned the hug, surprised.

 

   “Thanks, little sister. I’ll think about it. Now get going.”

 

   She stepped back, grinned and threw him a Vulcan salute before vanishing in a flash of feathers, leaving just enough time for Dean to compose his face before Gordon appeared.

 

   The game was changing.

 

.o0o.

 

   By the time Gabriel had found the exact abandoned factory that the angels had decided in their infinite wisdom was the best place to keep a psychotic demon, he was just about vibrating in his seat. All the way across town the demonic energy inside him had been growing, coiling restlessly, looking for an outlet.

 

   So when he walked in, prepared to pound on a few angels before he got around to the demon, he was surprised that Alastair had done the first part of his work for him. He took in Dean on the floor, looking dazed and a bit worse for wear, leaking white light from his eyes. Gordon was nowhere to be seen.

 

   What obviously wasn’t so good was that rather than being safely stuck in a devil’s trap, Alastair was currently entertaining himself by choking his brother to death, an insane grin on his face.

 

   “I’ll see you back downstairs, bright and early, Monday morning,” the demon was hissing as Cas turned slowly purple, his eyes starting to roll, feet kicking in panic where he was pinned to the wall.

 

   Gabriel reached out with his hand and his mind, lashing out with a great wave of power that dragged Alastair off Cas and threw him across the room, pinning him against the wall. Alastair sneered at him in shock and anger, hissing laughter.

 

   “Well well, look who’s come to the rescue of little Cassie. What are you gonna do, small fry? We both know that you aren’t powerful enough to do more than tickle me.”

 

   Gabriel grinned, knowing that he still had blood on his teeth. “Yeah, well, guess I ate my Wheaties this morning.” Gabriel twisted his hand, tightening his grip on the demon inside the meatsuit. It was Alastair’s turn for his legs to spasm as he choked.

 

   “Now, let’s get this over with. Who’s killing the angels?”

 

   Alastair just started up his wheezing, cackling laughter again, and Gabriel twisted until it broke off into a scream. “I don’t know! It’s not demons.”

 

   “You’re lying.” He singsonged and twisted again, like he was wringing out a damp towel, and Alastair’s screams rang through the empty spaces of the abandoned factory. A dark thrill of power ran through his veins, telling him to grip tighter, squeeze harder.

 

   He released Alastair before he died, and he gasped out, “I swear! It’s not demons! We had nothing to do with it!” The end of the sentence was distorted by another bout of insane laughter. Damn, he was telling the truth, Gabriel could see it in his twisted soul.

 

   Alastair giggled, dead eyes peeking out from under his brows, flashing blood-stained teeth. “What are you gonna do with me now, little guy? Lock me up, hand me over to your angel friends?”

 

   “Well, I would. But see, I’ve been drinking a little more go juice than usual. And, you hurt my little brother.”

 

   His voice was relaxed, but inside his rage was a churning, violent beast. He felt all the anger that he had for Alastair, for the loss of Hannah, the angels, for Cas lying beaten and broken and half-conscious on the floor. It came pouring out of him like a broken dam. He twisted his hand into a fist and snarled, not caring about the warm blood that was starting to track down from his nose and drip off his chin. He was going to kill the bastard, once and for all.

 

   Alastair’s eyes rolled up into his head and the pearly white fog descended over them once more, ghastly choking noises coming from his throat as though he was trying to cough up his own larynx. Another squeeze and the demon lit up inside his skin, flickering orange lighting him from within as the windows rattled in their frames. Gabriel laughed, a high hysterical cackle as the demon writhed.

 

   A terrible, winding death scream stretched from Alastair’s mouth as the last of the light burnt out of him, then his body slumped sideways, now human-grey eyes vacant. Gabriel stood for a second, breathing hard with exhaustion as the adrenaline left him, and wiped the trail of blood off his lips with a sleeve, ignoring the tremor in his hand. God, he was so tired. His gasping was too loud for the room, echoing around the space as though there was something else breathing, looming over him, making him jumpy. Why did revenge never feel as good as it was supposed to?

 

   There was a thin groan from across the room and Gabriel stirred himself out of his reverie. He ignored Dean’s wide-eyed, horrified look from where he was still slumped and hurried over to Cas, hoisting him up by the shoulders, trying to assess the damage. Shit, he looked bad.

 

   “Hey, angel-air. Mind getting off your lily white ass and giving us a lift to hospital?”

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel clenched his jaw, watching the slow rise and fall of Cas’ chest, the click and wheeze of the respirator. He tightened his grip on the hand that was poking out from under the covers, careful to avoid his broken fingers, and tried to take a deep calming breath, only to stop when the smell of disinfectant became overwhelming. Damn, he hated hospitals.

 

   He looked up for a second and over the top of Cas’ bruised and battered face, he caught sight of someone hovering in the corridor outside their room. Instantly he was on the alert. It could just be an orderly, but knowing their luck and the number of people who wanted them dead now, it was just as likely to be a demon wanting revenge for killing Alastair.

 

   With a hand on the gun inside his jacket, he walked quickly to the door and shoved it open, then almost walked into Dean who was standing on the other side.

 

   “What the hell are you still doing here?” He hissed.

 

   “I… just thought…” Dean was looking nervous, his hands twitching indecisively as though he didn’t know what to do with them. Good.

 

   “You just thought what? That you’d come and lurk outside like a creeper? And why did you just take off and leave us to it, ‘cos I know you can heal him. Get in there and fix his face.”

 

   Dean switched from uncertain to defensive in a second. “You need to learn some respect, abomination,” He said, his lip curling.

 

   “And _you_ need to learn how to manage a damn devil’s trap,” Gabriel snarled. “Seriously, you’re angels. Why did you think a symbol made of playground chalk was a good idea?”

 

   “That trap was perfect, I made it myself, and it couldn’t have been washed away by mortal means. Something must have sabotaged it, but I don’t know what. Only angels are powerful enough to erase that warding.” Dean muttered, realisations clouding his emerald eyes that he was obviously trying to deny to himself.

 

   “So that just means that either you’re not as good as you think you are, or there’s a rotten apple in your team.” Gabriel stabbed his finger into Dean’s chest to make his point. “Work it out, bucko.”

 

   He turned and stomped back towards Cas’ room, leaving Dean still frozen in the middle of the corridor. Fucking angel politics.

 

.o0o.

 

   Dean looked at the break in the line that he had painted himself only a day before to hold Alastair, jaw clenched. There was no avoiding it. This was definitely the work of an angel. And the only other angel who had been anywhere near this place was Gordon. He remembered what Charlie had told him about the corruption in heaven. Was it everywhere?

 

   He heard wingbeats behind him and straightened, turning.

 

   “Gordon. Did you do this?” He said shortly, cutting to the chase.

 

   Gordon’s wings fluttered slightly in surprise, then shuffled and resettled behind his back. “Yes,” He replied calmly. “It was me.”

 

   Dean pinched the bridge of his nose before remembering that that was a human habit and dropping his hand. “Why, Gordon? Why would you try to kill the righteous man?”

 

   Gordon’s face twisted in disgust, his lip curling. “We’re supposed to save the world for these miserable creatures, Diniel. These… wretched things flopping around in their own filth. And heaven wants to keep them safe, but they never tell us _why_. Do the higher ups ever tell us anything? We should be trying to free our brother, not contain him.”

 

   “What, _Lucifer_?”

 

   Gordon’s eyes glinted maniacally. “Don’t you remember how strong he was, Diniel? How bright? He could wipe this earth clean and we could create a new heaven here, a better heaven! None of the corruption, none of the control. We could make a new paradise. Join me.”

 

   Dean couldn’t believe his ears. “But you’ve been killing angels. Our own kin.”

 

   Gordon shrugged, unrepentant. “I only killed the ones that didn’t join me. Many already have, and I still want you to be one of them. You were strong once, Diniel. You were almost as strong as the archangels. You can be strong again.”

 

    He held out his hand. Dean stared at it.

 

   “I… do remember.” He said hesitantly. “I remember Lucifer. He was bright but…” He made his decision and looked up, straight into Gordon’s eyes. “I’d rather take a one way express to hell than let him destroy humanity. I’ll stop the seals from breaking, I’ll stop Lucifer from rising, and I’ll stop you.”

 

   Gordon sighed, dropping his hand. “That’s a pity. I would have thought that you’d have more sense.”

 

   Without warning he drew his angel blade, and Dean only just had time to raise his own and block the blow to his heart, and then they were fighting. They slashed and parried with the power of two colliding tsunamis, wings held high and aggressive, claws and teeth bared, sending furniture flying and electrics sparking with the violence of their fight. Dean would have given anything for his old strength back; he would have squashed Gordon like a bug back then, but now they were evenly matched.

 

   Gordon managed to knock him off balance with a brutal slam to his head and Dean fell backwards, but Gordon kept coming, landing heavy punches to the side of his face, gripping his vessel by the lapels as their wings grappled.

 

   “Join me, Diniel,” Gordon snarled.

 

   Dean smiled and spat, feeling his lip split further. “Go to hell, Gordon.”

 

   Gordon raised his angel blade for the killing blow and Dean closed his eyes, thinking of Sam. He would have liked to talk to him one last time.

 

   But instead of the burning pain of an angel blade digging into his Grace, there was a choking sound and Dean’s eyes snapped open. Gordon was staring down at his chest in surprise to where an angel blade was protruding from his sternum like a metallic, blood-painted extra limb.

 

   His grip on Dean loosened and he fell sideways, revealing Charlie standing behind him, and he sprawled to the ground, Grace leaking from his eyes as Dean scrambled backwards. Gordon’s Grace exploded with a scream, leaving the sooty imprints of his wings burnt into the floor around his empty vessel.

 

   Dean leant back against an overturned table for a few seconds, breathing heavily. Charlie offered him a hand up.

 

   “Thanks,” He said, letting her pull him to his feet. “I guess I owe you one. You were right.”

 

   Charlie winked at him. “Damn right you owe me one.”

 

   Dean sighed and shakily rubbed his face, looking around at the scene, deliberating. “What now?”

 

   “Well, I thought I might look into some of the other realms. Check out now while the going’s good. I always wanted to go on a real adventure when I was human, guess now’s my chance.” She smiled up at him. “You fancy coming with?”

 

   Dean shook his head, grinning and wiping a smear of blood from the side of his face. “Nah, I’m having too much fun. Take care, Charlie.”

 

   “Alright. See ya around, Dean.” She threw her arms around him in a hug. He froze for a second, then relaxed and leant into it, smiling as she went on tiptoe to rest her chin on his shoulder. “Good luck.”

 

   Eventually she stepped back, then vanished with one last grin in a twirl of scarlet plumage. Dean sighed. He didn’t resent her for getting out of this while she could, and he would make sure that the other angels didn’t follow her, but he had a human charge to attend to.

 

.o0o.

 

   When Gabriel woke again in the hospital chair it was to find Cas trying to explain to the baffled nurses how his wounds had been healed during the night. Gabriel managed to smuggle them out before anyone tried to write a paper on his brother’s ‘miraculous’ healing, and one taxi ride later they piled into the warm interior of the continental. Gabriel insisted that he drove, not fully trusting angelic healing powers and concussions, and noticed that Cas was carefully not looking at the abandoned factory as they drove away.

 

   “I broke the first seal.”

 

   Cas just came out with it, his eyes fixed determinedly on the road.

 

   Gabriel snorted “What? No you didn’t, you were in hell when it broke. That’s why they pulled you out, so you could do their dirty work for them.”

 

   Cas’ jaw tightened. “’And it is written that the first seal shall be broken when the Righteous Man sheds blood in hell. As he breaks, so shall it break.’ I did it, Gabriel. After thirty years, I couldn’t take it anymore. I got down off the rack and agreed to torture souls. I was pretty much a demon by the time Dean pulled me out. It’s all my fault.”

 

   Cas’ voice was choked, his head turned away, and Gabriel couldn’t remember the last time he has seen Cas cry like this, like a small child, ashamed and afraid. Probably afraid of Gabriel, of what he might think. He hesitated, then pulled the car over and let it roll slowly to a stop, gravel crunching under the tires. He reached out to put a hand on Cas’ shoulder.

 

   “Hey, Cassie, it’s not your fault. You seriously think I’m gonna judge you for caving after _thirty years_ of _torture_? That’s pretty impressive. And if it hadn’t been you, I bet they would have just dragged another schmuck down instead.”

 

   Cas sniffed and took a shuddering inhale that was fighting not to become a sob. “No, it had to be me, and I failed.”

 

   Gabriel grabbed his shoulders and turned him so that Cas had to face him. “No, Cas,” He said firmly, prodding him in the chest and staring him straight in his swimming blue eyes, “This is not your fault. You don’t get to blame yourself for this. Blame the demons for torturing you. Blame the angels for not getting you fast enough. Blame me for going and dying in the first place so you had to make that goddamn deal. Anyone but yourself.” He pulled him into a rough hug, then released him. No wonder Cas had been looking cut up about something since he got back from hell, but he was looking ever so slightly better now that he had confessed, still shaky but he wiped his eyes and nodded.

 

   “Come on kid, let’s find a motel, we both need to sleep. But we can’t use the last one, I kind of burnt a table.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then Charlie STAYED WELL AWAY and DID NOT DIE A HORRIBLE AND STUPID DEATH! Because, frankly, there is enough angst in this already.
> 
> Also, watch me reveal Sam and Dean's backstory so slowly it has to be measured on a geological timescale.


	10. These Monstrous Books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of 'The monster at the end of this book'. Enjoy!

   Even with the unusual amount of weird shit that went on around them, it wasn’t every day that Gabriel and Castiel discovered book series based on their lives. So at first, the trashy paperbacks were hilarious. I mean, who even were those hulking guys on the cover? Hunting wouldn’t give you muscles like that, but steroids might. And Gabriel was pretty sure that he hadn’t been hit by any growth spells lately. He spent the first half an hour after they brought them back to the motel room flexing in exaggerated poses in front of the mirror and kissing his own distinctly wiry muscles, while Cas chuckled from one of the beds, thumbing half-heartedly through the thin pages.

 

   The humour quickly wore off though once they realised exactly how detailed the books were. And discovered that they had a cult following.

 

   “Fuck, they’ve got everything from me going to that orgy while we were in Vegas to our stupid prank wars,” Gabriel quickly closed the cover of ‘Tall Tales’, thankful that Cas hadn’t gotten around to reading that one yet. Nobody else needed to know the extent of the crush he had had on that damn trickster, and the whole mess of emotions that he still had about the thing now. Which meant he might have to hide ‘Mystery Spot’ as well. He leaned forwards, snatching it discreetly as he peeked over Cas’ shoulder. “Anything more about this whole fever dream on the internet?”

 

   Cas shut the laptop so fast that Gabriel was surprised he didn’t hear the screen crack. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him, but Cas turned to him and shook his head with a mildly traumatised expression. “Brother, trust me, you don’t want to know.” Gabriel laughed and Cas turned back, muttering about “things that had been seen that could not be unseen”.

 

   So luckily Cas was preoccupied enough with finding the author, while trying desperately to avoid the fanfiction, that he never noticed the missing books. It turned out that Carver Edlund was a pen name, and after a visit to the publishing office where they managed to wheedle the guy’s actual name out of the reluctant publisher by pretending to be ‘number one fans’ and flashing their anti-possession tattoos, they set off again to the address she gave them.

 

   “Marv Metatron. Sounds like a comic book villain,” Gabriel commented as they knocked on the battered door of a small, run-down house. The entire neighbourhood could have done with a lick of paint, lawns of scruffy grass and overflowing bins standing drunkenly on the sidewalks.

 

   The door opened and a short man with greying curly hair and two weeks’ worth of scruff answered. The smell of alcohol, stale take out and neglect wafted out of the house.

 

   “Hello. Are you Marv?” Cas asked.

 

   “Yeah,” the guy said warily. “Who’s asking? If you’re here about the bins, I swear I don’t-”

 

   Gabriel shoved past him into the house without waiting for Marv to finish. “Hi. I’m Gabriel, this is Castiel, my brother. We’ve got some talking to do.”

 

.o0o.

 

   It took a long time to convince Marv that they were the real deal. Between his hysterical laughter and reaching for the half empty whisky bottles that littered the depressing living room, Gabriel found the pile of half completed manuscripts by the old, battered typewriter.

 

   “What the hell is this?” He demanded, flicking through the papers with narrowed eyes.

 

   “Oh, those? Well after Cas- sorry, you- went to hell, my publisher went bust, but I couldn’t stop writing. There was so much more of the story to tell!” His eyes were lit up in a literary fervour as though he was talking about interesting fiction rather than the grim reality of their lives.

 

   “Whoo boy, do you need to work on your grammar,” Gabriel commented, skimming the lines. Marv scowled at him. “Look, Marv, I get it. You get your jollies by torturing your characters. But the fact is, we’re not characters, we’re real people. Actual, real life, living, breathing, _bleeding_ people. Emphasis on the _bleeding_ , because we seem to be doing an awful lot of that lately. So could you, you know, _stop trying to kill us?_ ”

 

   Cas put a calming hand on his arm and took the papers from him, flicking through them interestedly. “Relax, Gabriel. He probably isn’t causing it, he’s just a psychic. Do you mind if we keep these?” he asked Marv, who nodded, still clutching his whisky like a life-saver.

 

   Gabriel narrowed his eyes at Marv as they walked out. “We’ll be back later.”

 

.o0o.

 

   “I don’t like it,” Cas admitted as he shoved his dirties into the washing machine at the laundromat. “I mean, how is he being so accurate? Like you said, those books contained everything. _Everything_. It can’t just be a coincidence. No psychics are this focused. And why is he focused on us, anyway?”

 

   “’Castiel loaded his gigantic darks into the machine,’” Gabriel read aloud from the transcripts. “’He was a little worried that the washer might spit them right back out again, due to their foulsome reek.’”

 

   “That isn’t what it says.” Cas said without turning around, pouring powder into the slots.

 

   “Aw, how’d you guess? You read the first pages already, didn’t you?”

 

   “No, but I read some of the other books and I know the limits of Marv’s vocabulary. He would never have used ‘foulsome’.” Cas pressed the button and the machine jolted into reluctant life.

 

   “Yeah, well, it’s all looking pretty accurate to me so far.” Gabriel flipped to a few pages in. “’Castiel, his coat and hair still crusted with the mud that he had been drenched in earlier, glared at the policeman and contemplated murder.’ Wow, Cassie, such a violent mind.”

 

   “Give me that!” Cas snatched for the papers.

 

   “’”Give me that!” Castiel yelled,’” Gabriel grinned and kept reading as he danced out of the way.

 

   “Stop it!”

 

   “’He chased clumsily after Gabriel, but his brother was too quick! He yelled “Stop it!”’- Ooof!”

 

   Cas pushed him backwards into a laundry bin and grabbed the crumpled pages, then started leafing through them with a scowl.

 

   Gabriel snickered and levered himself out of the bin. “Apparently, we stay in a motel in town, then you get sprayed in mud and have a disagreement with a police officer that nearly turns into imprisonment, so an ordinary day all round.”

 

   “Well, I still don’t like it. But maybe we can beat it. If these papers tell us everything that’s going to happen then we can avoid it, can’t we?”

 

   Gabriel nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, you’re right. This could actually be quite useful. Tell you what, let’s just get out of town. Avoid the whole kit and kaboodle. Then you won’t have to get sprayed in mud, and I won’t have to provide an alibi for the gruesome murder of a police officer. As if we need another felony under our belts.”

 

   Cas agreed reluctantly that this case was probably more trouble than it was worth, and they bickered good naturedly until the laundry was dry. They loaded the warm, slightly crumpled clothes back into their duffels, Cas folding his neatly while Gabriel just shoved it in.

 

   Finishing first, Gabriel slung his bag over his shoulder and sauntered outside to where the continental was parked some distance away. He skirted around the enormous pothole filled with dirty water at the side of the road and flung his bag onto the backseat before getting in the front. Cas came trailing along after him.

 

   Just before Cas was about to reach the car, an enormous truck roared past, easily breaking the speed limit. One of its wheels slammed into the pothole at sixty miles per hour. Out of the rear window of the car Gabriel saw a tsunami of dark brown water arc gracefully into the air, hanging there in glittering slow motion, before smacking directly into Cas’ surprised face.

 

   Cas staggered back, spluttering and trying to wipe the mud out of his eyes as it trickled in brown rivulets down his freshly cleaned coat. Gabriel howled with laughter as he watched Cas shaking his fist at the retreating vehicle, obviously swearing a blue streak. He was still dripping as he slumped into the front seat, gritting his teeth at Gabriel’s cackling as he fired up the car.

 

   “I agree with what you said earlier. We need to leave this town immediately.”

 

.o0o.

 

   “What do you mean the bridge is shut?” Cas was scowling at the police officer, his hair still plastered down with grit and water, and Gabriel started to prepare his alibi.

 

   “Sorry Sir, we’ve had a lot of rain recently. The bridge got washed out.” The man’s words should have been polite, but his tone was bored and condescending as he glanced arrogantly down at his phone as though they weren’t worth his time.

 

   Gabriel leaned sideways around Officer Dickface, looking past the traffic barriers towards the river. Sure enough, it wasn’t so much a bridge any more as a pile of washed-out rubble. There was no way anyone was getting across there.

 

   He caught a glimpse of movement in the trees on the other bank and squinted. There was definitely someone there, in the shadows of the treeline, but before Gabriel could get a good look they turned and retreated further back. Probably the patrol closing off the other side of the bridge.

 

   Cas was still on the warpath. “What about other roads to the highway? Can’t we cross the river?”

 

   The officer sighed irritably, looking as though he had already dealt with this too many times that day and had long since run out of fucks to give. “Look, there’s no other roads. To get to the highway you have to cross this river, and this is the only bridge, and the river’s too deep to ford. You’ll have to stay in town for the night. There’s a reasonable motel on the main road as you’re going back. We’ll have the bridge up again by tomorrow, but until then we can’t do anything. Sorry.” His tone suggested that he was patently not sorry. Cas hands clenched into fists.

 

   Gabriel clapped his brother on the shoulder and dragged him away before his eyes could turn into actual lasers. “Oookay, come on then terminator, we’d better book a room before they’re all gone,” he waited until they were almost out of earshot of the rude officer then continued, “And before sergeant douche over there offers you a night in the cells instead.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel shut the door of the psychic’s house quietly behind him, relaxing when he heard the sound of throaty snoring coming from the couch. He tiptoed over to where the typewriter was crouched maliciously over the desk and picked up a sheaf of recently typed papers, leafing through them. He sighed with relief.

 

   “What are you doing here?”

 

   Gabriel jumped out of his skin and whipped around. Marv was sitting up on the couch, looking nervous but not surprised.

 

   “You already know the answer to that,” Gabriel waved the first page at him accusingly, where their conversation was written out word for word in bold black ink.

 

   Marv heaved himself up with a self-important sigh. “You snuck back here because you want to know if I wrote about the demon blood. I didn’t. I never added it to the books because I thought it might make you look… unstable.”

 

   Gabriel scowled at the shorter man thunderously. “Keep talking, bucko, and I’ll make sure you get a little more unstable.”

 

   “You know it’s wrong, don’t you?”

 

   Gabriel grimaced, turning back to the desk. “Of course it’s wrong! But it’s not like I’ve got a choice. I need to do this, Cas isn’t strong enough to get through this on his own. I need to help. And you know what they say,” He smiled grimly. “If you’re going through hell, keep on going.”

 

   “So it isn’t that it makes you feel more powerful? More in control? Less like a coward?”

 

   Gabriel had to restrain himself from wrapping his fingers around Marv’s throat and squeezing. He had spent almost his entire life hunting monsters and nothing had ever got on his nerves than this slimy little shit. A tiny voice whispered in the back of his head that it was probably because he was afraid that Marv was right.

 

   He took a deep breath and ignored the man, pushing down the rage. He flipped through the papers again, reading more closely this time. He blinked and squinted closer. No, it did say what he thought he had read.

 

   “What the fuck is this? Lilith’s coming to town? Why didn’t you call us?” He demanded, brandishing the manuscript.

 

   Marv cringed, cowardly again. “I don’t know, it just comes to me!”

 

   Gabriel read further and felt his eyebrows rise in shock, then the anger came flooding back again. He grabbed the smaller man by the collar and shoved him hard against the wall. Marv let out a squeak of fright as his head hit the plaster with a dull _thunk_ and he looked up at Gabriel with wide, frightened eyes.

 

   “Now listen here you snivelling piece of shit,” Gabriel snarled. “You’re gonna cut this crap about me sleeping with Lilith! That’s not me.”

 

   “Please, I can’t help it! Please don’t hurt me!” The guy was sinking down in his grasp like he was trying to shed his jacket and escape through the floorboards. Gabriel tightened his grip.

 

   “I am not going to have sex with Lilith!” he shouted right into Marv’s face just as he heard the sound of wings behind him.

 

   “ _WHAT_?” Gabriel looked around into Cas’ incredulous face next to Dean’s stoic one.

 

   “Come on Cas, don’t tell me you believe anything this little turd says. It’s all complete crap, and this proves it.”

 

   “Gabriel, let him go.” There was no joking in Dean’s eyes or voice.

 

   “Why should I?  I think he deserves some good old-fashioned strangulation myself.”

 

   Dean sighed like he had been made to babysit small, stupid children. “Let him go, he’s not a psychic. He’s a prophet of the Lord.”

 

   There was a moment of silence, and then Gabriel burst out laughing, so hard that he bent over at the waist and had to let Marv go, who quickly backed away to hide behind his sofa.

 

   “Oh, that’s a good one, Deano,” Gabriel said, wiping his watering eyes. “That’s really funny.”

 

   “It’s not a joke. These books will come to be known as the Shurley Gospels.” Dean picked up a cheap paperback and started flicking through it.

 

   Gabriel’s laughter stopped. “You’re kidding me. Those pulp novels, gospels? They’re full of spelling errors, and that’s the end manuscript! They’re terrible!”

 

   Dean grimaced like he agreed but wasn’t allowed to admit it. “Look, just leave him alone. I know he’s annoying as hell, but those are the rules. See you around, Cas.”

 

   With that he vanished with a rustle, and Cas turned to look at Gabriel. “What were you saying about you sleeping with Lilith?”

 

   Gabriel sighed. This was going to be a long explanation. At least he wouldn’t have to come clean about the demon blood just yet. And it wasn’t like any of it was actually going to come true. That would just be stupid.

 

   But maybe, just maybe, enough of it would come true that they could use this to their advantage. If they knew that Lilith was coming, then they could fight. And maybe, just maybe, he could finish this once and for all. Now all he had to do was convince Cas.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel was dreaming. He wasn’t sure how he had ever fallen asleep considering the fight he and Cas had just had over taking on Lilith, but he knew with a blinding, irrational certainty that what was around him wasn’t real. He must have been more tired than he thought, not that that was surprising. None of them got much sleep any more.

 

   Part of his certainty that he was dreaming might have come from the décor in this motel room, which was actually kind of tasteful and not hideous at all. Definitely fake.

 

   Another big clue was that the trickster was sleeping in bed next to him, long hair spread out across the pillow. For some reason Gabriel didn’t find it surprising at all to see him there, in fact seeing him lying next to him made soft warmth bloom in his stomach. Gabriel considered the trickster for a second, the hard planes of his face relaxed in sleep, soft pink mouth slightly open.

 

   What the hell. This wasn’t real anyway. He knew that tricksters couldn’t dreamwalk, after mystery spot he was a world leading expert on them. So this must have been a figment of his imagination. Which meant he could do whatever he wanted.

 

   He grinned and leaned forwards, then whispered seductively into the trickster’s ear, “Hello there handsome.”

 

   Sam bolted upright, wild-eyed, then whipped around to face Gabriel. His brow creased into confusion as he looked him up and down, then at the covers that he was gripping too tightly, then around the room.

 

   “This is what you dream about? I would have thought that it would be all Busty Asian Beauties in here.”

 

   Gabriel shrugged, a little confused. This didn’t seem much like his normal dream material. “Nope. The endless nightmares tend to kill my sleep libido. This is okay, though! Better than watching Cas get ripped to shreds by hellhounds. Again.” Sam flinched minutely. “Anyway, who says this isn’t a sex dream?” He winked and dream Sam stared at him in surprise, then glanced away, a blush rising in his cheeks. Damn, Gabriel had to hand it to his imagination, he was _adorable_. And warm. Gabriel snuggled closer. Sam looked even more confused for a second, his blush rising even higher, then settled back with a sigh.

 

   “You need to stop doing this. You keep pulling me in here while you’re sleeping, you tug on the bond.”

 

   Gabriel snorted. “Stop this dream? Not likely. After that argument with Cas, I was expecting tonight to be a horror marathon. You’d think I was actually planning to sleep with Lilith, the way he reacted.”

 

   Sam’s eyes widened. “Lilith? She’s here?”

 

   “She’s coming,” Gabriel corrected lazily. “I’m gonna take her on. Cas’ll see. I have to try and beat her.”

 

   “Gabriel, you have to go, you have to get out of here,” Sam’s voice was urgent, his body suddenly rigid with tension against Gabriel’s. “You can’t kill her! All that’ll happen is that you’re going to offer yourself up on a plate!”

 

   Gabriel groaned, staring up into Sam’s desperate eyes with annoyance. He couldn’t even have a nice sex dream any more, could he? “Oh come on, does nobody have a little faith in me? I’ve got a chance to make this all right. I need to take it.”

 

   “You _don’t_ though, Gabriel! Don’t you realise how much more powerful she is than anything you’ve taken on before. She is the _first demon_. She will _flatten_ you.” He grabbed Gabriel’s shoulder, beseeching. “And even killing her isn’t a good idea at the moment. I’m sorry, I can’t tell you why, just, don’t do this. Please.”

 

   Gabriel wavered, hesitating at the look in Sam’s eyes. But before he could do anything, there was a loud _thump_ and he shot upright, disoriented. The room was dark, and he was back on top of the rough scratchy motel sheets, alone. He waited for a few seconds, tense, then another _thump_ came from the room next door, along with indistinct groaning. Gabriel relaxed with a sigh, putting the demon knife down on the night stand. It wasn’t as if it would make any difference anyway. Lilith was coming, whether they liked it or not, and then they would have to fight.

 

.o0o.

 

   Cas paced up and down outside the motel room, conflicted. Apart from the chirping of crickets in the undergrowth, the night was silent, the stars twinkling down at him from a velvet sky. He could have been the last man on earth. He stopped, leaning against the vending machine.

 

   “Please, I wouldn’t ask unless I was desperate. We need help.” Cas rested his forehead against the ice machine.

 

   “Prayer is a sign of faith.” Cas whipped around. Dean was standing about ten meters away from him, his spiky hair haloed by one of the lights in the parking lot.

 

   “Dean,” Cas sighed in relief. “I need help. We need to get out of this town. We can’t leave by car, the river is too deep to ford, and Lilith is coming. Gabriel thinks that we should take advantage of the fact that we know she’s coming, he thinks we should fight her, but that’s never going to end well. I think she’s going to get to Gabriel, we need to escape before she gets here. You need to fly us out.”

 

   Dean stood straight and still as a pillar. “I can’t.”

 

   “What? But you’re an angel,” he pleaded.

 

   Dean looked frustrated. “Cas, it’s not just a psychic prediction, this is a divine prophecy. I can’t interfere, no one can but especially not angels. Everything that is written is unavoidable, it’s the Word of God.”

 

   Cas felt his frustration bubble up. Weren’t the angels supposed to be on their side? “Then what good are you? Gabriel was right,” He growled into Dean’s face. “When you need me to assist with the apocalypse, don’t bother asking for help.” He stalked past Dean towards the room. Why had he thought that the angel might be useful?

 

   “Cas, wait,” Dean called from behind him. “You need to understand why I can’t help.”

 

   Cas turned and looked at him expectantly, irritated.

 

   Dean glanced around nervously, and Cas suddenly wondered whether the angel had someone watching him. He had seemed more nervous recently. “Prophets have archangels on their shoulders. If anything dangerous shows up near a prophet, the archangel makes an appearance. Archangels are fierce, they’re heaven’s most terrifying weapons. They’ll smite anything in their way.”

 

   Cas felt hope bloom in his chest as he realised what Dean was trying to tell him. “So if the prophet was in the same room as a demon…”

 

   “Then bam, goodbye demon. So you understand, yeah?” Dean smirked at him sideways. “Why I can’t help.”

 

   Cas nodded, hiding his own smile, feeling hope swell. He just had to pull it off. “I think I do. Thank you, Dean.”

 

   Dean winked at him. “Good luck, Cas.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel hated the wait. His fingers fidgeted compulsively with the cover as he sat on the bed. The dream had put him on edge, and now he was choking on his own nervous energy. By the time he heard the knock at the door it was almost a relief. He took a deep breath and stood, walking over. It was show time.

 

   He opened the door, and as expected, there was no one there. Damn demons and their overly dramatic tendencies. He turned, and lo and behold, there she was standing behind him, the attractive blonde that she was wearing no disguise for the decayed, cancerous thing under her skin.

 

   “Hi, Lilith. Lovely evening.”

 

   She smiled at him and let a wave of pale fog roll over her irises. “Hello there, Gabriel. I would throw you around a little before we start, but we both know that won’t work on you, don’t we? Must be all the demon blood. So I’ll get straight to the point.”

 

   “If you’re gonna try to kill me, that’s not gonna work either.”

 

   She looked at him almost disdainfully. “Kill you? Of course not. I’m here to offer you a deal. I’ll stand down. I’ll let the whole thing go. No more seal breaking, no more angel hunting, everything goes back to normal.”

 

   Gabriel looked at her in surprise, then narrowed his eyes. “What’s the price?” There was always a price.

 

   She cocked her head at him. “Nothing much, just your head on a stick. And your brother’s too of course.”

 

   He hesitated and she smiled, shark-like, at him. “Oh, don’t tell me the Shurley boys, the kings of sacrifice, aren’t willing to give their lives for the world? And after you gave your lives just for each other, too. How selfish.” She tutted, reached out and trailed a manicured finger down his chest, a line of goose bumps rising in its wake. “A man after my own heart.”

 

   Gabriel moved back out of her reach, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Why would you do that? Things are going your way aren’t they?”

 

   Her face dropped into chilly reluctance. “Not totally. You see, I’ve found out that I don’t survive this war. And maybe I’d like to go back to when it was all baby blood, all the time, and there were no angels on my ass twenty four seven.”

 

   He shook his head. There had to be a loophole somewhere. “I don’t believe you.”

 

   She shrugged. “To be honest, I didn’t expect you to. You’re too clever. But a deal’s a deal; if I make it, I have to keep it. You know that.” she walked across the room and sat delicately on the bed, crossing her legs and patting the covers next to her seductively. “Just so you know sugar, it’s going to take more than just a kiss to seal the deal with me. Much more than a kiss.” Her smile was full of teeth.

 

   Gabriel was pretty sure that that was bullshit. No way was he making this deal; there was bound to be a loophole somewhere that would end up with him and Cas rotting in hell and the apocalypse going down anyway. But he could play for time while he tried to figure a way out of this.

 

   He moved forwards, plastering a cocky smirk onto his face as he went over to the bed. She lay backwards against the pillows and he crawled up after her, remembering the knife strategically placed on the bedside table.

 

   As fast as he could, he grabbed it and stabbed down towards her chest, but she was faster. She gripped his arm, twisting the knife back on him, grinning maniacally as it inched towards his heart.

 

   The door burst inwards with a loud _BANG_ and they both looked around, Lilith’s eyes flashing at the intrusion. Cas hurried in, dragging a terrified looking Marv with him.

 

   “Go, now.” He growled at Lilith.

 

   She hissed, releasing Gabriel and stalking towards her new targets. “Really? You think you can stop me, Castiel?”

 

   Cas held his ground, triumphant. “No. But Marv is a prophet of the lord. Do you really want to tangle with an archangel?” As he spoke, there was the sound of wind picking up, the clattering of debris outside. Inside, the air felt thick and heavy with charge, so much more intense than with the other angels that they had dealt with. Light streamed in through the rattling shutters, bright and violent, and the building began to shake on its foundations.

 

   Lilith was looking around at the incoming might with a sneering snarl on her face, glaring at Cas.

 

   “I would run if I were you,” Cas shouted to her over the wind now rattling the window blinds. A high painful whine started right on the edge of hearing, getting ominously louder, like a bomb about to land. Lilith gave them one last look of frustration and disdain, then erupted from her meat suit as a boiling cloud of black smoke, swirling out through a vent in the ceiling. The body dropped to the ground, lifeless.

 

   Almost immediately, the wind died away to nothing, the light dimming and the ominous sound fading into silence.

 

   Marv squeaked something and ran out of the door as though his ass was on fire. Gabriel slowly got off the bed and walked over to where Cas was still standing, breathing heavily, and clapped him on the shoulder.

 

   “Thanks, bro. You saved my ass. Possibly literally. Nice save with the archangel. Where did you get the idea?”

 

   “Dean tipped me off.” Cas looked pleased and sort of fond. “Marv wasn’t so enthusiastic, but I… convinced him.”

 

   Gabriel’s mouth turned up into half a smirk. “Well, what do you know? Maybe Dean isn’t a blunt instrument after all. At least we know one thing now. Lilith’s afraid.”

 

   Cas looked at him in surprise. “She is?”

 

   “Yeah, I could see it in her eyes, I could feel it. She was telling the truth about one thing, she’s not going to make it through the apocalypse alive. I’ll make sure she doesn’t.”

 

   Gabriel smiled grimly and Cas looked a little uneasy. He looked sideways at Gabriel, considering. “So you weren’t tempted then? Not even for a second? She did offer to stop breaking seals, after all.”

 

   Gabriel could see the genuine fear behind Cas’ eyes, and realised belatedly that that was why Cas had been shouting at him earlier, when they were arguing about whether to confront Lilith or not. He was afraid, afraid that he might lose the only family that he had left.

 

   Gabriel shook his head tiredly. “Nah. There would have been a loophole in there somewhere, and then we would have died and the world would have ended anyway.” He grinned at Cas. “And besides, safe sex is important. Wouldn’t have wanted to catch anything.”

 

   Cas grimaced at him and the moment was broken.


	11. The Bumper Book of Demon Blood Detox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of 'When the levee breaks', so obviously prepare for ANGST and PSYCHOLOGICAL TORTURE! Yayyyyyyyyy!

   “I serve God. I don’t serve humanity, and I definitely don’t serve _you_.”

 

   There was nothing left of Dean’s confused, nervous vessel, Jensen, in the cold green eyes glaring back at them. Gone was the old leather jacket that Dean had taken to wearing. He was back in the poorly fitted cheap suit that he had been in when they first met him in the barn all those months ago, and Gabriel was taking it as a bad sign. Cas dropped the sleeve of Dean’s jacket and stepped back, shocked.

 

   Dean turned and walked away from them, spine held stiffly straight, with none of the animated displays and relaxed gestures that he had been slipping into more and more lately, leaving Cas staring after him with a hurt expression on his face before he closed it off into blank neutrality. He turned so that he wasn’t facing Dean either, his shoulders hunched and his expression so much like a jilted lover that if the atmosphere hadn’t been so grim Gabriel would have started in with the teasing.

 

   Just before Dean vanished, Gabriel noticed the angel glance over his shoulder at Cas’ turned back, just for a second. Then he was gone.

 

Gabriel frowned, worried about Dean’s reaction. It was unexpected. Dean had looked like he was warming up to them, and often seemed to be overly fond of Cas, and Gabriel suspected that was in spite of the douches on high.

 

   The buzz of the Demon blood running through Gabriel’s veins was dying down to a steady hum. He realised that the revolting taste of copper was still thick and bitter on his tongue and grimaced. He pushed down the guilt from the memories of Cas’ horrified face when he realised exactly where Gabriel’s powers were coming from, and wiped the blood off his face using the sleeve of his jacket. He had saved them. That was what mattered, right?

 

   He looked up at Cas to see him staring at him with that same expression of fear and revulsion on his face as before. Gabriel bristled defensively at the same time as wanting to crawl into a hole and die until the shame wore off.

 

   “What?” He snapped.

 

   Cas sighed, his expression collapsing into something that just looked tired and too old for his face, and that was a hundred thousand times worse than any screaming, shouting or hitting that he could have done. Gabriel’s anger shrivelled faster than a puddle in Death Valley, leaving just the bitter aftertaste of regret.

 

   “Nothing. Let’s just get out of here.”

 

.o0o.

 

   “So, Josh, why d’you call us? Sounded urgent on the phone,”

 

   Josh led them down the stairs towards the basement. He turned to Gabriel, “Yeah, it’s big alright. Go on in, I want to show you something.”

 

   Gabriel stepped over the threshold. Maybe it was something in a dangerous book that Josh didn’t feel safe keeping upstairs with the rest, or maybe a powerful object?

 

   “So, where’s this big demon problem?” He turned back to the two of them on the other side.

 

   “You’re the demon problem. This is for your own good, Gabe.”

 

   Faster than Gabriel had though he could, Josh swung the heavy door shut, and he heard them sliding the thick latch across. He laughed. This had to be a prank.

 

   “Good one, guys.” There was the muffled sound of retreating footsteps. “Guys?” Gabriel went up the door and pushed, but nope, definitely locked. He thumped his fist on the cold metal. “Come on, Josh, this isn’t funny!” He thumped again, the cold realisation slowly trickling in that this might not be a joke, that they might have been serious.

 

   After a few more thumps and a couple of decent kicks that would have taken out any door that wasn’t made of pieces of space rocket heat shields, Gabriel slumped against the door, glaring angrily. It was no use, he wasn’t getting out of here, and Kali couldn’t get in to help him. He was stuck.

 

.o0o.

 

   After a few hours, Gabriel gave up trying to get out of the panic room. He had wriggled his fingers into every nook and cranny of the place, but he had to take his hat off to Josh’s DIY skills, there wasn’t so much as a loose nail in the entire structure.

 

   He sat down on the bed with a sigh and took off his jacket, then rubbed his face with his hands, which he noticed were shaking slightly. He shook them out to steady himself. It had been too long since he last had a dose of blood. He was twitchy, jumpy, like his skin was a few sizes too small for his muscles. He could feel his heart beating, too fast, in his throat and tried to swallow it down with his anger. Why would Cas do this to him? He was trying to help, he _was_ helping. And this was the thanks he got.

 

   A voice slithered quietly from behind him. “Well, no use feeling all sorry for yourself. We might as well have a little bit of fun while we wait.”

 

   Gabriel jumped and twisted himself around on the bed, then felt his gut swoop with terror when he saw who was standing there. He scrambled off the cot and backed away in fear, tripping over the bucket in his haste to get away.

 

   “No, you’re not here, you can’t be here. You can’t get in here. I killed you.” Gabriel scooted away, back to the wall, but for some reason his powers weren’t working. Alastair stepped forwards into the meagre light and reached a hand out lazily, pulling him back into the middle of the room with ease.

 

   Gabriel blinked and he was strapped to the table, restraints around his wrists and ankles locking his arms and legs into place, his shirt gone, a thick leather strap across his shoulders preventing any movement. He jerked, trying to get free, beginning to panic, but it was no use. Alastair loomed over him, a smile twisting his pallid face.

 

   “Come on, Gabriel, I’m hurt. You don’t think I’m real? You can’t feel it in your heart?” Gabriel yelled and tried to jerk as Alastair slowly, methodically carved a line into the left side of his chest, but it was no use, he was tied down too tightly. “Can’t you feel it in your guts?” Alastair drew the last syllable into a sibilant hiss. Gabriel turned his head away but the scream ripped out of his throat anyway as he felt the blade deftly slice into the soft muscles of his abdomen, carving a deep, fiery path into him. Alastair’s face was business-like as he sliced again, pulling another cry out of him as he writhed then went limp against the bindings, panting desperately through the pain.

 

   Alastair grinned down at him with yellow-stained teeth, his scalpel and fingers wet and dripping red. “And we haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet,” he purred. “Oh, you’re going to sing such a pretty song for me. Just like your brother.” He reached down, reached in, grasped something and twisted and yanked tight.

 

   Gabriel screamed.

 

.o0o.

 

   Castiel closed his eyes and clenched his jaw and reminded himself for the tenth time that this was for Gabriel’s own good as the terrified, panicked, _agonised_ screaming started again from below them.

 

   He didn’t look up as he accepted a glass of whiskey from Joshua, but he could feel the eyes fixed on him as he knocked back half of it in one go and held it out for a refill. Cautiously, Joshua tipped the bottle again, the amber liquid sloshing up the sides of the glass before pooling in the bottom. Cas glared down at it morosely. The colour of it, clear and golden, reminded him of Gabriel, and it wasn’t helping.

 

   “Are you alright, son?”

 

   Cas grunted. “Don’t ask stupid questions.” Gabriel screamed again and he shuddered, taking another large gulp. It burnt all the way down, and Castiel thought that he deserved it. For not seeing the signs earlier. For failing his brother.

 

   “Is this supposed to happen? He sounds like he’s being tortured down there.” he asked gruffly.

 

   “Hang on a sec, let me just check my bumper book of demon blood detoxing. Oh wait, there isn’t one.” Cas scowled at him, but nobody had perfected their sass like Joshua. Except maybe Gabriel.

 

   Josh heaved out a sigh and stared down at his own whiskey glass, swirling it thoughtfully. “Look, kid, I don’t know what’s happening to your brother. But are you sure about this? I mean, Gabriel’s powers… he can kill demons. Balthazar just called, said that there’s been a load of omens again, so it looks like Lilith is on the move. We need to be able to take her on. And we could sure use some help in that department at the moment. Gabriel might be our only shot.”

 

   Cas stared at Josh in disbelief, then anger. “Feed my brother demon blood, risk his life and soul for a job? What the hell are you suggesting, Joshua?” He growled.

 

   Joshua sighed and wiped his face tiredly, and they both flinched as another scream echoed up the stairs. It was just as well that Josh didn’t have any close neighbours. “Look, I know you hate me for suggesting it. I hate me for suggesting it. But this is the apocalypse we’re talking about, the end of the world. What if Gabe can stop all that? Plus, I don’t like the way we’re doing this. Going cold turkey is dangerous for addicts, and that’s what this is; Gabriel’s addicted to the stuff.”

 

   Cas shook his head vehemently. “I’m not feeding my brother demon blood.”

 

   Joshua leant forwards. “This could kill him! I might not know about demon blood, Castiel, but I know how addiction works.”

 

   “No!” Cas slammed his glass down on the table. “I… No. I won’t do this to him. We’ll get him clean, he’s tough. He’ll pull through this.”

 

   “Cas, he could die!”

 

   “Then he’ll die as a human!”

 

   They faced off against each other for a second, breathing hard, then Joshua backed down, going into the kitchen for another bottle of whiskey and muttering under his breath. Cas slumped back into his chair and ran a tired hand over his face. First Dean, now this?

 

   Joshua still looked dubious when he came back, but he seemed to bite down his concerns at the look on Cas’ face, and sighed as he poured himself yet another glass of whiskey. The screaming continued.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel lay on the bed, panting, his eyes clenched tight in anticipation of the next blow.

 

   Nothing happened.

 

   He slitted his eyes open, then opened them wide in surprise, sitting up. There was no one in the cell with him. Alastair was gone.

 

   He ran a shaky hand over his uninjured stomach, his mind whirring. He could feel the sweat on his brow, soaking into the collar of his shirt, and his stomach was slowly bubbling with nausea now that the pain had died away. The edges of his vision rippled hazily, like he was underwater. Was this all a hallucination?

 

   “Yes, it is.”

 

   He turned and started. The trickster stepped out of the shadowed edges of the room, towering tall above him, his face shadowed and his eyes dark. Gabriel gulped, trying to fight back the urge to run. If it was telling the truth and this was a hallucination, it wouldn’t work anyway.

 

   The corner of the illusion’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “Yeah, that’s right, don’t bother fighting. After all, you can’t even run away right, can you? All that running, and never getting anywhere. Even after you left your brother.” The thing that looked like Sam knelt down in front of him so that he couldn’t avoid looking at it. “You left Cas all alone, with dear old Dad, the crazy preacher on a mission, to be turned into the perfect little soldier. Then you got dragged back in anyway.”

 

   “Go away,” He croaked, but the trickster ignored him, cocking his head, the corner of his mouth twisted into a cruel smile.

 

   “I mean, you know you’re just wrong, all the way through. All that stuff about the demon blood and being the boy king, and what was the charming nickname the angels have for you? Oh yeah, the abomination. And they’re right, aren’t they? You’re a cocktail of sin with rage issues. Not that you need all that anger, because you’re enough of a monster that it doesn’t bother you to kill a man in cold blood. Gluttony, sloth, don’t get me started on lust. You’ve slept with just about everything that’ll climb into bed with you. Demons, werewolves. Even me,” the image of Sam smiled with sharp teeth, “A trickster god. Well, you were considering it anyway. More than considering it, going by all the naughty fantasies up in here. All those dreams. Don’t think I can’t see them.” He tapped Gabriel’s forehead hard with his fingers and Gabriel flinched back.

 

   “But that doesn’t stop you from trying to get away now, does it? All the running,” he leaned closer, and Gabriel saw that Sam’s eyes weren’t the bright greenish blue colour that he remembered, but clouded over vicious mustard yellow like Azazel’s. “All the lying to your brother. All those times you laugh it off. All those people you sleep with. Because deep down,” those terrible yellow eyes burnt into his with malicious pleasure, “You’re afraid. And you’re all alone. And sometimes you think that great black hole inside your heart might just eat you,” Sam hissed into his ear.

 

   “Stop it!” Gabriel sprung up off the bed, away from the apparition, pacing around the too-small room, back to the wall.

 

   “That’s it! Run!” Sam was suddenly there, laughing ringing right in front of him and he jumped backwards, “Run like a coward!”

 

   “Get back!” Gabriel swung his fist but Sam was gone, and he was shaking, why was he shaking?

 

.o0o.

 

   Castiel heard a loud thump from downstairs. He turned to Joshua.

 

   “What was that?”

 

   They listened, and there it was again, a loud thump and a crash, accompanied by a cry of pain this time.

 

   They looked at each other and hurried down the stairs, running to the door and peering in through the hatch.

 

   Gabriel was lying on the floor, curled into a ball, looking small and pale, his shirt stuck to the curve of his back with sweat. His whole body was shivering with fever, and he let out a long, low groan.

 

   Then, just as Castiel was starting to assume that he’d only fallen off the cot, Gabriel uncurled with a wild scream, limbs shaking and jerking as his eyes rolled in their sockets.

 

   “Is this normal?” Cas asked Joshua, aghast. As he said that they watched in horror as an invisible force picked Gabriel up and threw him through the air, pinning him to the wall of the panic room as his yelling increased in volume.

 

   “Well, that’s definitely not,” Joshua said as he scrabbled at the heavy bolt, sliding it back and opening the door. Cas pushed past him and ran in, desperate to get to his brother.

 

   Gabriel rolled across the wall, and Cas ducked as he flew across the room, hit the other wall and landed on the floor. He was really shaking now, seizing when they grabbed him and pulled him up onto the cot. Cas stared down, horrified, at Gabriel’s rolling eyes, his mouth foaming with terrible, bubbling breaths.

 

   “Castiel!” Joshua yelled, smacking him on the arm. “Focus! We need to strap him down before he hurts himself!”

 

   Cas snapped out of it, pinning Gabriel’s writhing shoulders to the cot as Joshua slapped the cuffs around his wrists and ankles. Gabriel’s body still bucked, trying to throw him off, but after he was strapped down he seemed to calm a little, the jerking of his limbs slowly grinding to a stop until he was lying still and limp and feverish on the bed.

 

   Cas glanced helplessly at Joshua. “Is there anything we can do?”

 

   Josh shook his head, eyes still stuck on Gabriel’s form. “Just hope that he pulls through, I’m afraid. Look, Cas, there’s better ways of doing this. We should think about it.”

 

   Castiel glared at him then stomped out of the room and up the steps and out into the still cool of the night air. He knew what Joshua was still talking about as though it was even an option; there was no way he was feeding Gabriel any more demon blood.

 

   He sighed again, rubbing his eyes. Even his analytical brain couldn’t think of a decent plan, there didn’t seem to be any good ways forward from here. Everything looked so hopeless.

 

   He took a deep breath of the night air and looked up at the stars twinkling coldly back at him. He whispered, “Dean, I need your help.”

 

   “Hey there, Cas.”

 

   Dean was standing by the car, only his eyes shining to give away where he was. Cas exhaled with relief. “There you are. I was worried you wouldn’t come.”

 

   Dean snorted. “Me, Cas? I’ll always come when you call.” There was something nervous about him tonight though, a flighty jerkiness about the way he moved as he walked forwards, as though he might take off at any moment and leave Cas breathing the night air of his own. He was back in his own clothes though, the worn jeans and leather jacket, and Castiel took that as a good sign.

 

   “That wasn’t what you said earlier.”

 

   Dean’s eyes darted guiltily down and to the side, skidding away from him. “Sorry about that,” He said gruffly, “I wasn’t really in a good place. So, you want to know about if I can help Gabriel?”

 

   Cas narrowed his eyes. Not in a good place? What did that mean? But there were more immediate concerns. “Yes. What can you do?”

 

   Dean sighed. “Nothing, I’m afraid. Look, Cas, I want to help. I do. But I just can’t, okay?”

 

   “Can’t you, I don’t know, tell me the cure for this, or where to find it?” Cas was still hopeful that he might still be able to pull something like the archangel they had called down the last time they had had to deal with Lilith.

 

   Dean just shook his head.

 

   Cas sighed, too tired to stay angry. “At least tell me whether I’m right to do this. Tell me whether Gabriel is able to kill Lilith.”

 

   “He could kill Lilith,” Cas looked up at Dean in surprise, “But you don’t want him to. He’d have to drink demon blood like a kid with a sugar addiction and free soda on tap.”

 

   “That sounds like Gabriel,” Cas muttered.

 

   “Drinking that much blood would change him,” Dean warned. “It would corrupt his soul. There wouldn’t be any going back after that.” He put his hand on Cas’ shoulder. “You can’t let him out. He’d just go back to Kali and you’d lose him forever. You’re doing the right thing, dude. I might be able to help you more, though, if you’ll do something for me.”

 

   Cas looked up into Dean’s eyes in time to catch the flash of uncertainty in them, as though Dean wasn’t really sure of what he was saying, which was strange. Weren’t angels meant to be sure of everything, all the time? It was all changing so fast. He sighed. “What do I need to do?”

 

   “Swear to serve heaven.”

 

   Cas looked at Dean in surprise. “I swear,” He said slowly.

 

   “In any way,” Dean prompted.

 

   “I will serve in any way. So, what now? Will you help us?”

 

   “Now you wait. We’ll let you know when we need you.”

 

   With a whisper, Dean was gone. Cas threw a loud curse into the night and kicked the side of the building, but all that got him was sore toes. Fucking angels.

 

.o0o.

 

   When Gabriel woke up, he was alone again. His limbs felt shaky and wobbly, like they had turned into cooked spaghetti. No more ramen for him, then. He tried to raise his arms, to wipe away the sweat he could feel beading on his forehead, but there was a clinking and he couldn’t move. Raising his head a little (the throbbing in his cranium intensified), he looked down his body and saw that at some point he had been cuffed to the bed. Great. They were tying him up now. They must be afraid of him, chaining him up in the basement like a monster. Maybe he was.

 

   He heard the rustle beside him and looked up defeatedly. He saw Charlie standing at the end of the bed and he sighed.

 

   “Go on, then. Tell me how much of an abomination I am, tell me how I let down my brother.” He deserved it, he was disgusting. Tainted. A coward. He knew it, it was the truth. 

 

   “No, Gabriel.” He felt the mattress dip and looked up in surprise. Charlie smiled at him and laid a hand on his knee. “You’re not a bad man, Gabe. Look, you tried, alright? Your intentions were always good.”

 

    “But they weren’t, though. I’m selfish.” Gabriel looked away, ashamed

 

   Charlie shrugged. “Isn’t everybody? You’re human, that’s part of what makes everyone tick. Look, you tried to make a difference. You’re trying to help your brother. It isn’t your fault if he can’t see that.” She placed a warm palm against his cheek and he couldn’t help leaning into it. “You’re so strong, Gabriel. So brave. I’m proud of you. But you can’t stop now, you’ve got to keep going.”

 

   “What? No, I can’t, Cas was right, the demon blood was a terrible idea. I’ve known that for a while now,” he admitted.

 

   “It’s not permanent, but you need to kill Lilith. The rest of the seals are breaking, not even the angels can hold it back for much longer,” Charlie told him. “You _know_ that what’s inside of you is evil, and you’re using it for good. That takes a lot of courage. You need to do this for Cas. You need to be brave for him, you need to be strong for him. You’re his big brother, you’re supposed to protect him from all this. You’re family. You’d do anything for him, I know you would.”

 

   “Yeah, I know,” Gabriel breathed, closing his eyes. It scared him, sometimes, when he realised how little there was that he wouldn’t do to keep Cas safe.

 

   Charlie leant forwards and laid a warm kiss on his forehead. “You can do this, Gabriel. I believe in you. I trust you.”

 

   When Gabriel looked up, she was gone, and he was alone again.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel had sort of guessed that this was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier to look up and see his brother’s face staring at him from the corner of the room.

 

   “What makes you think I’m even your brother anymore? You’re not human now with all that demon blood running through your veins. We’re not even the same species.” Cas’ eyes were blank and emotionless. “Why did I ever sell my soul for you? You’re not worth it. You’ll never be worth anything. Not to me.”

 

   “Don’t say that, Cas,” Gabriel whispered, unable to swallow the words anymore, shaking against the bed and trying to hold back the tears from the raw, aching wound that the words were tearing in his chest.

 

   “Why not? It’s the truth. You were always weak, anyway. I was going to ditch you as soon as this whole thing was over. You’ve just made it easier for me to get rid of you that much sooner.” Cas shrugged. “You want to know the truth? It was a relief, really. No more pretending to like you, no more effort to protect you. Just some junkie.”

 

   He leaned in closer, and Gabriel couldn’t look away. “I wanted you gone, Gabriel. I wished you were dead. That would have been better than what you’ve become. A freak. A monster.”

 

   “Go away!” Gabriel couldn’t curl up and he wrenched painfully at the cuffs, the cold metal cutting into his skin even with the padding. He screwed his eyes shut, the pain and nausea overwhelming, and wished that it was over, Cas was right, he wanted to die, he wanted…

 

   There was a soft click, and Gabriel felt the pressure of the cuffs against his wrists ease as they popped off. He opened his eyes and sat up, shaking out his arms, confused. There was no Cas in the room, which was odd; he had the feeling that the hallucination hadn’t been done with him. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and looked out into the hallway.

 

   “Kali?” He croaked cautiously. But no, Kali couldn’t have done this, she couldn’t have gotten past the salt line and devil’s traps.

 

   He swung his legs off the cot and stood on shaky legs, still sweating heavily, his head swirling like he had just got off the magic teacups. He staggered to the door and looked out; no one around.

 

   He looked up at the square of light coming from the top of the stairs and narrowed his eyes in determination. He would get out, find Kali. Then he would finish this whole damn mess once and for all.

 

   He was going to kill Lilith.  

 

.o0o.

 

   Walking down a back alley in London on his way to deliver some poetic justice to a dodgy loan shark, Sam paused. The faint awareness of Gabriel that was always murmuring in the back of his mind that had been growing steadily weaker, masked by the haze of demon blood, was suddenly gone. Muted.

 

   He came to a stop and frowned, staring into the middle distance of the brick wall in front of him. A businessman huffed annoyance as he was forced to step to the side to avoid him and glared as he went past, but Sam didn’t notice. He should have been pleased. He had been saddled with a Bond to the most stubborn vessel known to angelkind, which constantly dragged him back towards the now inevitable fight. Sam had tried to guide him, had tried to steer him away from his fate, but Gabriel just kept charging forwards like a runaway train. He was a lost cause. Sam should have been glad that the unasked for obligation to protect his charge was gone, or at least dulled beyond recognition.

 

   But he was worried. He had always had mixed feelings about Gabriel, frustration warring with empathy, attracted to him and the bright light of his soul despite the risk of getting swept up in the conflict that he had given up everything to avoid millennia ago. The amount of blood that Gabriel would have needed to drink to dim the Bond this much was enormous. Which meant…

 

   They must have been stepping up the program.

 

   No. Surely not. Not this soon.

 

   Sam started to pace, running his hands through his hair in frustration, cold dread thrumming in his Grace, barely aware of the glances of fear that he was getting from the humans nearby or the small storm brewing overhead. He had thought that he’d have more time, time to prepare, or at least to resign himself to what was going to happen. But now it was _here_ , it was happening, and he found that he wasn’t ready at all. He loved earth. All these people, all this past and possibility, and it was all going to be gone, all because of one man’s poor life choices and heaven’s meddling!

 

   He snarled for a second, still searching inside himself desperately for the spark of Gabriel’s soul, but it was hidden. Sam yelled in frustration, ignoring the shocked looks of passers-by as they skittered away. Why did it have to be like this? Why did his family have to destroy each other? And why did they seem to think that they had to take humanity with them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd forgotten how painful these episodes are to watch until I wrote this fic. I remember now. 
> 
> As always, comments welcome!


	12. The End is Nigh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of 'Lucifer rising'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say a massive thank you to everyone who has been commenting! Seriously, do not underestimate the inspirational power of your feedback. I actually get up and do a happy dance every time I get a notification. So yeah, thank you.

   Castiel turned around and blinked. One second he had been at Joshua’s, desperately poring over maps to try to estimate where Gabriel would have gone when he escaped from the panic room, but now… he wasn’t. He looked around at the pale green wallpaper, the expensive chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the authentic-looking paintings hanging from the walls and cursed. He had no idea why he was here, but he bet his favourite gun it was the angels.

 

   “Where am I?” He asked the room in general.

 

   “We’ve brought you here to keep you safe,” He hadn’t expected the voice from the other side of the room and he reached for his knife as he whirled around, only to see Dean lounging against a carved wooden table.

 

   Cas relaxed a little. Well, in that case, there shouldn’t be anything to stop him from getting in touch with Gabriel again. He knew that Gabriel had had his phone on him when he left Josh’s house, and even if he only left another voice mail, it was better than nothing. He couldn’t give up. He dug his mobile out of his pocket and pressed his number, but there was only a tone when he held it to his ear. Out of signal.

 

   “I can’t get through to Gabriel. Could you get him on the phone?”

 

   Dean snorted, but there didn’t seem to be any humour in it. “What am I, your personal signal mast?” He shook his head. “Sorry, Cas, can’t do that.”

 

   Castiel narrowed his eyes at him. He knew that it was well within Dean’s abilities to get him some phone signal. Why was dealing with Dean always so infuriating? “Well, can’t you take me to him then?”

 

   “Nope, sorry.”

 

   “I want to go for a walk.”

 

   “I’ll come with you.”

 

   “Can’t you just put me down close to where Gabriel is?”

 

   “No can do.”

 

   He swallowed back the sick feeling in his stomach telling him that something wasn’t right here. “So you don’t want me anywhere near Gabriel. You don’t want me to contact him. What are you going to do to him?”

 

   Dean shrugged and grimaced. “Nothing. He’s doing it to himself.”

 

   Cas’ blood ran cold in his veins. “What is that supposed to mean?”

 

   Dean still wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Sorry. I’m not supposed to tell you. Can’t you just accept this, Cas? This is your fate, it’s-”

 

   “Destiny?” Cas spat into his face, increasingly angry to cover his growing sense of panic. “This isn’t destiny. This is manipulation. I’m going.”

 

   He turned towards where the door had been. He knew there had been a door. But now there was just a plain expanse of wall mocking him. He turned back to Dean.

 

   “Let me out. Let me go, I need to find him!”

 

   “Look, Cas, I’m sorry it all turned out like this.”

 

   Cas laughed coldly and drew back his fist. His knuckles slammed into Dean’s face hard enough that his jaw would have broken if he had been human, but all that happened was that his head snapped around sharply. It was like punching a granite statue. Cas turned away from him, flexing his bruised knuckles. “We’re bringing on the apocalypse. You’re going to need a better word than sorry,” He hissed.

 

   “Look, Cas, I know you don’t understand right now. Hell, I don’t understand everything either, but this _is_ your destiny.”

 

   Cas whirled around. “Is it really? Or is it just your superior’s way of keeping you in line, of keeping me in line? Because I am tired of being treated like a pawn, and you are more than just a hammer. Help me, Dean. Help me stop all this. Please, the world is at stake.”

 

   “How are you so sure that it’s worth fighting for? All I can see here is pain, and violence. We’re trying to bring paradise. You’d be at peace, with everything. Even your father.”

 

   That was the wrong thing to say. Castiel felt his eyes flash as he leant forwards into Dean’s face. “You can take your peace and bury it six feet under. I don’t want anything to do with it. They’re using you, Dean, can’t you see that? This isn’t about paradise. This is about control. Being a good soldier isn’t important, people are. Families and friends.”

 

   Dean turned away, his eyes darting. Cas grabbed him by the shoulder and wrenched him around by it, and this time Dean let himself be moved, his shoulder pliant and human under Castiel’s grasping fingers. “Look at me!” Green eyes met his reluctantly. Cas stared back, willing Dean to understand him.

 

   “I know you were going to tell me about all this, to warn me before they dragged you back to heaven. Help me now, Dean. Let me out of here, help me save Gabriel before it’s too late.”

 

   Dean was looking more uncertain by the second, his eyes darting around the room like his superiors might be watching from one of the paintings. “You do have any idea what you’re asking?” He hissed. “This is disobedience. We’d be hunted down and killed, I’ve seen it happen. I’ve _lived_ it.”

 

   Cas shrugged and Dean looked at him like he was crazy. “The fate of the world rests with us. If there is anything worth dying for, it is this.”

 

   For a second Cas thought that Dean might agree, might pull him out of the green room and help him get to Gabriel, but then the shoulders under his grasp hardened again and straightened, going cold as stone.

 

   “I’m sorry Cas, I can’t, please don’t ask me to do this.” He whispered, and Dean almost sounded broken enough to feel sorry for. Almost. But the pity was blocked out by the raging anger and frustration that pounded through him.

 

   Cas wrenched himself away. “I should have known. You’re just like the rest of them. Just a spineless, soulless thing. Go on then. Run.”

 

   He didn’t hear the sound of wings over the furious pounding of his heart, but when he turned around again, Dean was gone.

 

.o0o.

 

   Castiel had been in the room for several hours, had knocked on all the panels to try to find an exit, and jumped onto the table to prod the ceiling with a long candlestick for any hidden faults. When that had failed he had taken the angel statue off the counter and tried to use its heavy base to smash his way out, but had had just as little success. The angels had him hermetically sealed in.

 

   It had been long enough that he had started to get hungry despite the stress of the angels and the demon blood and Gabriel, and the burgers sitting in a neat pile on the table were starting to look seriously inviting. He sighed and got up, wandering over. He paused, dithering, then reached out.

 

   Before he could even jump in surprise, Dean was in front of him with a rustle of wings and a rush of air, pushing him back into the wall and pinning him there with an arm across his chest. His heart rate accelerated as Dean pressed his hand hard over his mouth, and he heard his own breath whistle through his nose. Dean gave him a dark glance, his lips pressed together tightly, and the message was clear; stay quiet. Cas gave a tiny nod and Dean pulled his hand back, reaching into Cas’ coat for the knife.

 

   Cas watched in surprise and confusion as Dean drew the knife smoothly across his own forearm, the blood welling up and spilling over the sides in ruby beads, dripping down to his wrist. Dean hurriedly gathered it in his other hand and turned to smear a bloody arc across the smooth expanse of wall.

 

   He had completed a circle and was quickly slapping on details and lines like a grisly Picasso when Cas heard the flutter of other wings behind them and turned to see Zachariah, Dean’s assbutt of a superior. Dean just painted faster, his hand flying across the sigils.

 

   “Diniel, what the hell are you-”

 

   “Go to hell, Zach!”

 

   Dean slapped his bloody hand against the wall in triumph and Cas had to cover his eyes against the blinding flash as Zachariah was sucked away.

 

   “I’ve wanted to do that forever. Come on, that won’t keep him away for long, he’ll be back,” Dean hurried over to him and grabbed his arm urgently. “We need to go. Now!”

 

   With a rush of wings they were off. They landed and Cas staggered, disoriented for a second before he wheeled around and realised that they were in the prophet Marv’s sitting room. Marv jumped up from the couch with a strangled yell. Dean barked at him, “Where’s Gabriel? Tell us!”

 

   “What? This isn’t supposed to happen!” Marv was gaping at them.

 

   Dean grabbed the man by the lapels of his dressing gown and got into his face. “Tell me where Gabriel is. Now! Or I’ll show you the real meaning of heavenly wrath.”

 

   Marv cringed. “He’s at some convent, St Mary’s.”

 

   Dean nodded at the prophet, then rushed back over to Castiel and grabbed his shoulder desperately, looking into his eyes. Cas could see the absolute terror in their emerald depths, but over that there was resolution. Dean had found his path.

 

   “You have to go, get to Gabriel before it’s too late. You have to stop him. Killing Lilith is the final seal.”

 

   Castiel hadn’t noticed that the room had started to vibrate until the empty whisky bottles on the table rattled. Then the light began to stream into the room like a spotlight was shining through the window, illuminating everything in stark white. He suddenly remembered, with terrible clarity, about the archangel tied to prophets.

 

   “Oh not again,” Marv whined, trying to hide behind the sofa.

 

   Cas stared around them in horror, but Dean just smiled at him cockily, his grin twisted with fear and determination. “Well, I’m picking up bad vibrations. Here comes the archangel. You need to go, I’ll hold them off.” He raised one hand and gently placed it on Cas’ cheek, his eyes and smile softening for a second, and for that moment the rattling of the windows receded and the sense of the terrible destructive force bearing down on them seemed far away.

 

   “Go,” Dean said to him quietly through the storm.

 

   And he was gone.

 

.o0o.

 

   Sam felt Dean die as though his heart had been ripped, still beating, from his chest.

 

   He knew the instant it happened, and without even thinking about it, he was flying, screaming agony and denial into the void. No, Dean couldn’t be dead! He couldn’t. His brother had to be alive. He had to see the truth for himself.

 

   He circled, then dropped into the prophet’s house, and his heart sank.

 

   What little was left of Dean’s familiar vessel was spread across the walls and ceiling and the gaping figure of the prophet like sticky red paint. There was still a fine red mist in the air, every breath leaving the flavour of blood metallic on his tongue. With a trembling hand, he reached out into the empty air where he could almost still see Dean’s silhouette standing; there were still scraps of familiar Grace on the aether, a hint of surprise, a trace of resignation. A blip of light as the vessel’s soul winked out on its way to heaven.

 

   Sam didn’t have time to feel any more than dumb shock before he felt the earth shift beneath him, the balloon-tight surface of the universe rolling with a blast wave as something pushed through from beneath, like an infection boiling upwards. He reached out across the globe towards the epicentre.

 

   Suddenly there was a pulse in the back of his mind as Gabriel’s Bond became visible once more, the vile corrosion of demon blood burning itself away in a burst of tainted power. Sam launched himself towards the connection and was horrified to find that Gabriel was right at the epicentre of the blast along with Castiel, sent there by the last trails of Dean’s Grace. Sam took off, winging himself towards them as fast as thought.

 

   He was too late for them as well.

 

   He had a split second to take in the scene from where he stood, invisible against the wall; Lilith, grinning triumphantly even in death. Kali’s body was draped over the steps where she had fallen. Gabriel, the dark stain of demon blood running rampant through his veins like ink, gripping Cas’ sleeve as they both stared in horror at the pit opening up in front of them.

 

   Lucifer was coming. Sam could feel it like a hoar of ice spreading across the edge of the universe. He fought down the rising panic and the grief, there was no time for that, they had to go, he had to get them away from here!

 

   He cast around frantically, and there, right overhead, a plane. Thanking the father he had long since stopped believing in, he crossed the room in an instant, grabbed the two humans by the arms and spread his wings wide.

 

   In a single beat they were high above the earth. He dropped his passengers onto the plane and took off again, his wings beating frantic-fast and deliberately obvious, a glowing beacon to lure Lucifer away from his targets. Sure enough, he felt the frozen gaze below him lock its attention onto him like a heat seeking missile, insane malicious glee at seeing something to chase, whether it had once been a beloved brother or not.

 

   He flew faster, using all six of his wings instead of just the usual two, and shot out over the Pacific Ocean, desperately trying to think of a plan now that the distraction had worked. Lucifer, even recently risen, was almost faster than him, but Sam was more agile as they flipped and zigzagged through the dimensions. He looked behind him and saw the tarnished beauty of his fallen brother looming closer behind than he had expected, reaching forwards with razor-sharp teeth and claws to grab his tails-

 

   He banked sharply down and rolled, barrelling back the way he had come, Lucifer right behind him. Looking down, he saw the cracks in the earth’s surface under the water beneath him and an idea jumped out at him. He twisted, turning to the south, and put on speed, wings beating in a blur. Almost there, almost there…

 

   He felt the chill and then a burst of white-violent pain as Lucifer’s open maw snapped closed on the last few feet of his longest tail. He screamed, his True Voice breaking through sharp and piercing, then he was plunging downwards into the belly of the islands that rose from the cracks in the ocean floor, and the violent heat of the planet’s core that they were born from.

 

   Sam heard Lucifer roar past like a bullet train as he veered away, the heat of the lava enough to deter him and he turned and thundered off back towards the US with a shriek of insane rage. Sam stayed there under the Galapagos for several minutes, waiting to see if he would come back and try to tackle him despite the annoyance of the heat.

 

   Nothing. Just the quiet rumble of lava flowing around him.

 

   Sam sighed and relaxed a little, twisting around to attend to his injuries. The leak of Grace from his tail was already slowing but the long plumes on the end were gone, along with the last few feet of his incorporeal flesh. Sam stared at it morosely. He had always liked his rather long, showy feathers, and it would take them a century at least to grow back, not to mention his tail. It reminded him a little of the time that Dean had found that curse which had made all of his body feathers fall out. He had been bald as a chick for almost a millennium. Dean had laughed so hard he couldn’t fly.

 

   Abruptly Sam realised then that Dean was gone. No more pranks, no more squabbling, no more moaning about how Michael had ordered this or how Lucifer was the worst boss ever. No more flying in tandem over the Himalayas, no more laughing as they skipped forwards in time and discovered the quirks of the 1970s together, no more trying to get Dean to stop sleeping with human women or eating more pie than his stomach could hold, no more…

 

   No more Dean.

 

   Sam sat under the islands for a long time. In his true form, he couldn’t even cry. He had wanted to get away, he had wanted to leave heaven and all of the rest behind, but he had never wanted to leave Dean. And now Dean had left him.

 

   It was too quiet now, the belly of the earth too silent. He stretched, rising to the surface, and limped back to the mainland and up the coast.

 

   By the time he reached the US the brothers were nowhere to be found, and he couldn’t bring himself to search for them. If he tried reaching along the Bond now then his own emotions might leak through, and he didn’t want to cause any more harm to Gabriel than he had already. Lucifer was still out there, but the ice of his Grace was distant and hidden, not searching for his vessel just yet, the violent insanity contained beneath a thin veneer of calm and patience.

 

   For now, the world waited.


	13. Safe Possession; Always Wear Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of 'Sympathy for the devil'.

   They needed to kill the devil. Gabriel in particular, since it was his magnificent screwing up that had let him out in the first place. Should be simple, right?

 

   Well, so far it wasn’t actually going badly, to everyone’s surprise. Marv had called them up almost immediately after they had staggered off the plane, confused and disoriented, and started gibbering about a new prophesy. Once they worked out the riddle about the location of the Michael’s Sword, that terrible weapon of heaven that they had been told about, it was almost too easy. How could their father have come across something so powerful and not realise that there was something more to it? They certainly hadn’t expected to find a weapon of heaven in one of dad’s old lock-ups, but they drove there anyway, shunting aside their other problems to deal with the most pressing one. It was worth a shot.

 

   They were both still shaken up over everything that had gone down in the run up to Lucifer’s release, of course. Gabriel had been shocked by Dean’s sacrifice for them, hadn’t thought that the angel had it in him to stand up for them like that, and if there had been any time to feel anything more than stress and guilt then he probably would have mourned him like Cas was obviously doing. Another friend gone, just as Gabriel had been starting to almost like the gruff angel.

 

   Between themselves, given their mystery rescuer from the church and Gabriel’s suspicious lack of demon blood addiction, it was obvious that Cas didn’t trust him. But that was okay. Gabriel didn’t trust himself, either.

 

   They stepped into the storage unit warily, weapons drawn. Anything could have snuck in since the last time someone had passed by, or one of the curse boxes might have failed, and knowing dear old dad there would be at least a dozen booby traps hidden around the place.

 

   They both squinted into the darkness, and Gabriel froze to stiffness momentarily as the torchlight landed on a prone body.

 

   “Woah!”

 

   Cas played his own torch around, highlighting another corpse slumped at the edge of the devil’s trap, then looped up to a crossbow mounted on the wall.

 

   “Demons. They didn’t get far.”

 

   Gabriel grinned, inspecting around the shelves. “Well, daddy dearest strikes again. I think he’d be pleased that he can still kill demons from beyond the grave, don’t you?”

 

   An unexpected voice echoed from the shadows. “Only because you lead them here.”

 

   They whirled on the noise, guns at the ready, and Gabriel was momentarily blinded when the light blinked on. Once the bright spots faded, he saw several interchangeable people in boring suits and the familiar, unwelcome face of Zachariah.

 

   “Oh thank god, the angels are here,” Gabriel drawled sarcastically.

 

   “Well, we might have planted that prophesy into Metatron’s thick skull, and it would be a little rude not to show up after all that hard work, right? Gotta reward the grunts somehow.” Zachariah glanced around at his motionless colleagues, like he was inspecting livestock.

 

   “Besides, we didn’t lie. The Michael Sword is here now. So nice of you to bring it to us, when we were having trouble locating it.”

 

   “What do you mean? We brought nothing with us.” Cas had been staring at Zachariah for so long without blinking that his tear ducts must have dried out, but Gabriel knew that he was taking in every single thing the asshole was saying, cataloguing it and sorting it and his brilliantly tactical mind churning out plans A to D in order of success.

 

   Zachariah looked amused. “It’s you, dumbass.”

 

   “What.” Cas didn’t even bother pronouncing the question mark.

 

   “You’re _the_ vessel,” Zachariah emphasised, eyes bugging out of his head like a toad that had just caught a particularly satisfying fly. “Michael’s vessel. You’re the Michael Sword.”

 

   Gabriel felt his jaw drop in horrified realisation. Vessel. Cas wasn’t destined to kill the devil himself, like the angels had told him, he was just the _vessel_.

 

   Zachariah actually laughed. “What? You thought you could kill the devil? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You’re just one small human, and not much of a specimen either.”

 

   “Why me?”

 

   “Because you’re chosen! It’s a great honour, Castiel.”

 

   Gabriel snorted. “Oh, yeah. Life as an angel condom. Sounds fantastic.”

 

   Cas stood up straighter, looking Zachariah in the eye. “I won’t do it.”

 

   “No? Well, that is a pity. Guess I’m going to have to be bad cop after all.” Zachariah raised his hand in a finger gun and pointed it at Gabriel. “Bang.”

 

   Gabriel didn’t even feel it at first. There was a loud, splintering _snap_ and his legs jolted. Then he was falling, and now he felt it, like someone had jabbed hot knives through his legs and was prising them open.

 

   He screamed, then howled again as he landed hard on the floor, his body curling up in a futile attempt to protect itself, clutching at his broken legs.

 

   “You son of a bitch!” Cas roared at Zachariah, stepping forwards.

 

   Zachariah held up a finger to stop him like he was scolding an annoying child. “Not so fast, or I’ll have to break more than his legs. I have had it up to here with your ridiculous attitude. The war has begun, and our general can’t put on his armour. That’s bad. Michael should be leading the charge against the adversary right now, but he can’t. Why? Because one little ant doesn’t like the idea of being a vessel.”

 

   Zachariah’s eyes were as hard and cold and dead as beach stones. Agony radiated hotly through Gabriel’s calves and thighs and he bit back another groan.

 

   “And if I say yes, how many humans die in the crossfire?

 

   Zachariah sighed, like they were all dense. “If Lucifer wins, he’ll roast this planet alive.”

 

   “But there’s a reason you’re asking us all of this, rather than inviting yourselves in, right?” Gabriel gasped from the floor. “Consent seems to be pretty important to you fellas. No means no, and all that. And from what I’ve seen so far, you seem like more of an ‘easier to ask forgiveness than permission’ bunch. So, I’m guessing you need Cas’ say so to walk around in his meat suit.”

 

   Zachariah looked down at Gabriel for a second, then smiled with all his teeth. Gabriel had a second to regret getting sassy with something that could scatter his atoms over a wide area before a terrible, sickening pain bloomed in his stomach and he gasped, choking. He leaned sideways and heaved, bloody vomit spilling onto the floor, the bitter taste of iron and acid sour on his tongue.

 

   Zachariah looked smugly back at Cas, who still had his eyes fixed on Gabriel in horror.

 

   “Alright. Let’s put it like this. Either you say yes, and I heal Gabriel from the stage four stomach cancer, or you say no and he dies a long, slow death by his own rogue cells. Even a blunt instrument such as yourself can understand deals, right?”

 

   Cas turned to Zachariah, a snarl on his face. “I would tell you to go to hell, but I don’t think even they’d have you.” If Gabriel hadn’t been choking on what was probably pieces of his own digestive tract, he would have cheered.

 

   “Well then, what about healing you from, say, a ruptured spleen?”

 

   Cas hunched over, arms folding around his middle with a groan.

 

   “Just kill us.”

 

   Zachariah laughed ugly, leaning down to look him in the eye. “Oh, no. I’m just getting started.”

 

   Just as he leaned forwards, presumably to torture them some more, a bright light erupted from behind him and through the ringing in his ears Gabriel heard a high, piercing scream that died away with the glow.

 

   Once the light had faded enough to look, Gabriel was shocked to see Dean stepping forwards, a bloody blade in hand and a furiously determined expression on his face. Behind him, the body of the angel he had just stabbed slumped to the floor, wings printed up the walls in sooty smudges.

 

   Zachariah was still hanging back, either frozen in shock or waiting for his grunts to deal with him, but the other angels were moving forwards cautiously. Not cautiously enough. The first angel lunged and Dean leaned sideways, deadly and graceful, snatching the blade out of her hand as she went past and planting it with a squelch in the middle of her back before she could turn. He ripped it back out of her, not missing a beat, droplets of blood arcing out in slow motion in the light of spilling Grace from the dying angel. The move flowed smoothly into Dean using the bloody blade to parry the strike of her comrade. They tussled for a second before Dean got the upper hand, slamming the angel’s head against the side of the shelves with a sickening thunk and ramming the blade up through his skull. He screamed as he died, Grace pouring from his eyes and mouth like he was drowning on it.

 

   The body dropped and Dean turned to Zachariah, eyes dark and fist clenched on his weapon, speckled with blood. His presence filled the room like it had in the barn, a burning electric pressure on the air. Zachariah took a step back, looking horrified.

 

   “How are you…?”

 

   “Alive? Good question. Better ask dad that one the next time we have Sunday dinner. He’s the only one who could have done it, and you know it.”

 

   Zachariah shook his head, face going pale. “No. It’s not possible.”

 

   Dean stepped forwards again threateningly. “No, it isn’t. It scares you, and it damn well should. Now, put all their bits back in the right places and scram before I turn you into an extra from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

 

   It wasn’t clear if Zachariah got the reference but he clearly recognised the tone, because half a second later the splintered ends of Gabriel’s bones were no longer attempting to pierce through his skin and his stomach wasn’t trying to crawl out of his throat. Dean relaxed a little once the sound of wings faded and Zachariah was gone, walking quickly over to them and putting a hand on Cas’ shoulder, looking at his face closely, apparently to inspect him for injuries.

 

   “You okay, Cas?”

 

   Gabriel levered himself to his feet with a grunt. “I’m fine too, thanks for asking.”

 

   Dean grinned sarcastically at him. “You’re welcome. Anyway, you two need to be more careful. Lucifer’s circling his vessel, on top of all the angels and demons and the usual crap. Zach’s gonna be after your skin too now. You should probably get some protection.”

 

   He looked at them critically, then stretched out and poked them both hard in the middle of their chests. Hot pain radiated out and Gabriel wheezed, doubling over, but as soon as it had come the pain was gone. He straightened up, rubbing at his breastbone and scowling at Dean.

 

   “What the hell was that for?”

 

   Dean grinned at him. “Gave you both some fancy new artwork, should keep the nasties off your tails. It’s going to keep me from finding you as well, though, so I’m gonna need a cell.”

 

   He turned to go, but Cas reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder.

 

   “Dean, you’re really alive?”

 

   Dean turned back to face him, his expression softening a little as he looked into Cas’ eyes. “You better believe it. What can I say? Just couldn’t stay away.” He raised his hand and placed it over Cas’ on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

 

   Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Uh, guys? Still here, you know. Maybe tone down the flirting just a little.” They both ignored him.

 

   Cas still looked troubled. “Were you… really dead?”

 

   Gabriel remembered the raw horror in his brother’s eyes when he realised that Dean had died for him, and saw the disbelieving hope there now. Cas was probably still wondering if this was all real.

 

   Dean was still smiling, but his eyes turned dark and bottomless. “Yup. Dead as a dodo. I’ve gotta go, you should get moving too before Zach comes back with reinforcements. I’ll catch up with you later.”

 

   With that he vanished in a puff of air, leaving them alone in the room. Gabriel sighed and started to wonder how they were going to burn all these bodies without anyone noticing.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one, I'll post the next one tomorrow cos that's a short one too. This story did not break into even sized chunks unfortunately.


	14. Sweet Dreams

   Gabriel woke slowly, the sheets warm and soft under his cheek.

 

   That was how he knew it was a dream; the sheets in the particularly crummy motel that he had fallen asleep in the night before had the texture of industrial strength sandpaper, and had such a strong aroma of tobacco that lying in them was like standing in the middle of a crowd of chain smokers. He was pretty convinced that sleeping in them counted as second hand smoking, and if he slept here long term and didn’t die from infected bedbug bites first, then lung cancer was a good possibility.

 

   So there was no way this was his actual bed. The pillows, rather than being deflated almost to the point of nonexistence, were plump and downy. The sheets were almost silken under him, and pale golden morning light crept through his eyelids.

 

   He sighed and rolled over, expecting by now what he saw on the other side of the mattress. She lay on her side with her head propped up on one arm, dark hair pooling on the pillows, and looked down at him with a fond smile on her face.

 

   “Sigyn,” he whispered, then sighed and pushed himself up to sit on the edge of the bed, facing away so that he wouldn’t have to look at her. Or remember how she’d died. What he wouldn’t give to have those dreams about the trickster back. “I’m sorry. We can’t keep doing this, I’ve got to move on.”

 

   “Honey, it’s alright. You don’t have to let go, we can still be together,” She murmured, coming up behind him, her hand cool on his shoulder.

 

   “I loved you.” And he had; he had loved her, sweet and warm and so different from now, back when he had been able to let himself be open and gentle. Now all that was left was claws and teeth and bitter sarcasm. Everything else had burnt away with her on the ceiling. “But I can’t keep this up, love. You’re not here anymore, I need to let you go.”

 

   “But you don’t.” The voice was suddenly very different, deep and male, and Gabriel whipped around in surprise.

 

   Where Sigyn had been sitting there was a man, watching him guardedly from the edge of the bed with eyes as sharp and precise as chips of ice. He looked quite unremarkable, with spiky blonde hair and wearing an innocuous t-shirt and jeans, but his gaze froze Gabriel in place like an insect pinned to a board.

 

   The man moved, smoother and more sinuous than any human could have managed, and the spell broke. Gabriel had jumped up off the bed and had his back to the wall almost before he had registered moving, his eyes tracking the movements of the predator on the bed as a deeply buried primitive part of his brain screamed at him to run. The room seemed darker now, the light more piercing as it illuminated the sharp lines of the thing’s face.

 

   “You’re Lucifer, aren’t you?” Gabriel hated how his voice shook slightly as it passed his lips.

 

   The devil tilted his head, considering in the angelic way that Dean sometimes did. “Yes, I guess I am. And you are Gabriel Shurley.”

 

   Gabriel didn’t bother nodding and the devil smiled, but those cold eyes stayed blank.

 

   “Why are you here? Get out of my head.”

 

   “It’s not that simple, I’m afraid. I’m here to ask you something.”

 

   Gabriel laughed, slightly hysterical, and eyed the distance between them as Lucifer stood. “What, make a deal with the devil?

 

   “Yes. I need to have a vessel to walk the earth. This is the visage of Nick, but he was only ever a stop-gap. As you can see, he’s already… deteriorating a little.” He gestured to several painful looking sores right by his hairline.

 

   Lucifer’s vessel.

 

   He should have known, and he realised with a sinking heart that he might have suspected that this was coming deep down. It made sense, what with Cas being Michal’s. He was Lucifer’s vessel. If there was a God out there, he had a terrible sense of humour.

 

“You’re very special, Gabriel. You’re a very strong vessel, the only one that can hold me without exploding after a few weeks.”

 

   Gabriel choked on another laugh. “Go directly to hell. And if you’re trying to hitch a ride in someone’s skin, pro tip for next time; don’t impersonate their dead fiancé!” Damn him. Damn him for making this memory into a cage, for using _her_ to try and coerce him!

 

   Lucifer shrugged. “I was just trying to give you a taste of what I would give you.”

 

   Gabriel froze. “What do you mean?”

 

   “I could bring them back, you know. All the people you’ve lost. Sigyn, your mother, your father. You could be happy.”

 

   Gabriel shook his head. “You’re lying.”

 

   The devil’s gaze didn’t waver an inch, locked on like a bird of prey. “I will never lie to you, Gabriel. You can have them all back.”

 

   What was most terrifying, Gabriel considered, was that he was actually tempted. Lucifer was telling the truth, he could see it in his eyes. But he also knew manipulation, he did it himself enough, and that was what this was, even if he trusted the devil to keep the bargain.

 

   “My happiness isn’t worth the world. That’s what’s going to happen, isn’t it? You and Michael have your big prize fight, with the world as your ring, and half the planet gets toasted extra crispy. Dude, I know you hate humanity, but your anger management sucks balls.”

 

   “Is that a no?”

 

   “Obviously.”

 

   “I guess that I’ll just have to keep trying, then.”

 

   Gabriel snorted. “Don’t hold your breath. Oh no, wait, do it! That would solve a load of my problems.” He straightened his spine and matched Lucifer’s icy stare. “I’ll never do it.”

 

   Lucifer smiled like a prehistoric shark. “We’ll see. Until next time, Gabriel.”

 

………

 

   Gabriel woke with a gasp, sweat now soaking the smoke-stinking sheets, and threw himself out of bed. He barely made it to the tiny bathroom in time to throw up. Once there was nothing left in his empty stomach he dragged his body into the shower and turned the heat up to full, trying to stop the violent shivering. The hot water ran out before his teeth stopped chattering.

 

   He didn’t bother getting back into bed. When Cas woke, he found Gabriel sitting on one of the rickety motel chairs, deep bags under his eyes and his mouth set into a grim line. He didn’t ask.

 

   “Let’s go.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He just can't catch a break, can he?


	15. Hide and Seek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of 'Changing channels'. Prepare yo selves for the big reveal!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would have been here a few days ago, but the wifi cut out and we live in the countryside, aka. when the internet's down, no one can hear you scream.
> 
>  
> 
> .

   Once they really thought about the case, it was obvious. The enormous, hulk-shaped hole was a dead giveaway. A bear attack? Whatever. If bears did that sort of thing then there would be fifteen-foot electric fences around every damn farmhouse within a hundred miles of a forest.

 

   Then they found the guy’s record of anger issues, bar brawls and domestic violence charges. With that sort of payback, as well as a healthy smattering of candy wrappers all over the crime scene, it had to be a trickster pulling this off. Gabriel very firmly tried to squash the small part of him that quivered at the thought that it might be his, no, _their_ trickster again. He knew the difference between dreams and reality. In real life, Sam dicked around with them and tried to kill them, and he definitely didn’t regularly end up in Gabriel’s bed, looking confused and adorable. Gabriel was still angry about the mystery spot- that must be what that anticipation was.

 

   But for some reason, he found himself suggesting that they at least talk to the trickster, much to Cas’ pissy objections about making deals with monsters. After all, Loki was a powerful deity. They hadn’t met anything else that could manipulate reality the way he could, and he could make a great ally if they could just get him on board. Gabriel’s personal feelings had nothing to do with it, he told himself firmly.

 

   Cas had squinted at him when he suggested it, like he was wondering if he should call the mental hospital now or later, and Gabriel had snarked at him until he’d dropped the expression.

 

   “Look, I just think we should give him a chance, okay? And if he still turns out to be a massive douchenozzel, then we’ll just kebob him.”

 

   So even though the warehouse was the most obvious trap ever set, Gabriel decided that if it got them close enough to chat, then they would just have to walk into it and hope that the god let them out alive. They pulled up and Gabriel hopped out of the car, looking up at the imposing structure. This was the place, he was sure of it. He could almost feel it, a buzzing tug pulling him forwards. He nodded to Cas beside him, hefting the stake, and yanked open the door, plunging into the darkness beyond.

 

.o0o.

 

   The door snapped shut behind them and they blinked in the sudden bright light, looked around in confusion. They had definitely been about to walk into a dark, abandoned warehouse, but suddenly, their ears were filled with the beeping of machines and the low murmur of voices, and their noses were assaulted with the familiar scent of bleach.

 

   Gabriel looked down at himself wildly. Hospital scrubs? A doctor’s coat? More worryingly, their stakes were gone. He whirled around and opened the door that they had come through, and as he had thought, it was just a store cupboard. With people making out in it. He closed the door again quickly. What the hell was going on? He had expected _something_ strange, but nothing like this.

 

   “Where are we?” Cas asked, squinting around.

 

   “Hmm.” Wait. This did actually look familiar. The too bright colours, the people constantly macking on each other? Gabriel glanced around, then walked quickly down the corridor, dragging a grumbling Cas by the sleeve after him. He rounded the corner and there it was, printed in big letters over the reception desk.

 

   “Thought so. Seattle Mercy Hospital. Home of Doctor Sexy MD, the most medically inaccurate yet sexually appealing doctor show to ever air on cable.”

 

   Cas’ eyebrows crinkled with confusion. “So what are we doing here?”

 

   Gabriel looked around, smirking as the nurses gave him a nod and a ‘doctor,’ on their way past. “Well, I’m guessing that our trickster is all over this. I mean, we knew this was a trap, right? We’ve just got to find him.”

 

   As he said the words, the lift door opened and a vision of male beauty walked out.

 

   “Who is that?” Cas asked.

 

   “That’s doctor sexy,” Gabriel replied, his voice definitely not an octave higher than usual.

 

   His hair was luscious and flowing, his stride was long and elegant, his nose was pointed and straight enough that they could have used it as a ruler. Gabriel might have whimpered a little at the sight of his broad shoulders straining against the white fabric. He was wearing a doctor’s coat, the same as them, and… worn work boots? Hang on. That wasn’t right.

 

   He stopped in front of them and Gabriel pushed forwards, shoving the taller man back against the wall as hard as he could with the height difference.

 

   “What’s going on?” The guy sounded slightly dumb and confused, but Gabriel wasn’t fooled by the innocent act.

 

   “I take it back, Cas, this isn’t doctor sexy,” He growled, “Because whoever you are, part of what makes Dr Sexy sexy is the fact that he wears cowboy boots. The ones you’re wearing look like they’ve been around the construction site a good few times.”

 

   The man looked around in lazy arrogance. “Someone call the security guards, these men need to be escorted out.”

 

   Gabriel growled and pressed him back further. “Cut the crap, we know what you are.” Definitely Not Dr Sexy gave him a long, searching look, dropping the act, his eyes going bright and sharp with analytical intelligence.

 

   Sure enough, he felt the solid shoulders under his arm shift and get even higher and broader than before, the features lengthening and sharpening into familiar shapes. It _was_ their trickster, just as Gabriel had suspected, and the familiar mix of anger, tingling excitement and a bit of relief that their old rival was still kicking flashing through his mind. Sam gave Gabriel a wry grin and pulled the hand away from his throat effortlessly, running his fingers back through his thick shoulder-length hair.

 

   “Well, that didn’t last long. You guys are good.”

 

   Gabriel looked around at the other people passing them in the corridor, but they were frozen mid-step, suspended in time. Apart from them, the silence was absolute, as though the world had stopped turning.

 

   “What is this?” Cas asked roughly. “Let us go.”

 

   “Do you like it? I made it myself.” Sam rapped long fingers against the wall. “All my own props, all my own sets.”

 

   Cas’ eyes narrowed. “So how do we get out?”

 

   “Well, mostly you don’t. That’s kind of the point.”

 

   Gabriel spread his hands placatingly. “Okay, whatever. Look kiddo, we just want to talk, okay? You have a little pow-wow with us, listen to what we have to say, then we’ll get out of your flowing locks and leave you to it. Five minutes is all I’m asking.”

 

   Sam opened his mouth to reply but there was a low rumbling sound, like thunder from far away. The floor shook slightly and the sickly strip lights blinked a few times. By the look of confusion on Sam’s face, Gabriel concluded that the shaking wasn’t part of Sam’s illusion.

 

   Sam glanced around at the flickering lights, distracted. “Look, just play the game, okay? I’ll find you later.” With a snap and a rush of air, he was gone. The rumbling faded with him. The world restarted with a jolt, people bustling past them along the corridor.

 

   Gabriel spun around and cursed, irritated. “Great, he’s gone, now what? I guess we’ve gotta play whatever dumb game he’s set up until he feels like coming to find us. Asshole!” he yelled at the ceiling

 

   Cas was looking less than impressed. “He’s trapped us without our weapons, I don’t like this. We need to leave, now.”

 

   He turned and started to stride away down the corridor, his doctor’s coat flapping dramatically behind him like a grounded bird of prey. Gabriel sighed and hurried to catch up.

 

   “Look, Cassie, Loki’s pretty powerful, squash-us-like-ants powerful. I don’t think he’s going to just let us go after he’s put all this effort into creating an idiot box to keep us in. He must want us for something, and we can use that to get him to sit down and talk to us.”

 

   “What is your obsession with talking to it, Gabriel? I would have thought that you’d be angry enough to just want to stake it and get out of here.”

 

   Cas was right. And that was surprising, if Gabriel thought about it. Annoyed? Yes, being trapped in a rat maze and then ignored was definitely annoying, but angry? Not really. Not properly, rip-your-guts-out pissed. And after mystery spot, he had more than reason enough to be. It was probably the fault of all those weird dreams. He’d had too much exposure to the guy.

 

   They hadn’t really been paying much attention to the people walking by them, but they should have been. Gabriel didn’t even see the slap coming. The woman’s palm hit his face hard enough to send him reeling sideways, cheek stinging.

 

   “Ow! What the hell, lady?”

 

   He recognised her a second later as Dr Piccolo, the sexy but arrogant cardiac surgeon. “You are a coward! A brilliant, brilliant coward!”

 

   Gabriel was starting to get seriously irritated. “Look, I’ve got no idea what time it is in this little universe bubble, but it’s gotta be too early to be hitting the grown-up juice. I’ve got some news for you, and it’s gonna be a shocker. Brace yourself; I’m not a doctor!” He flung his hands up in a gesture of exasperation with this whole scenario.

 

   She gasped, choking up. “Don’t say that! Don’t ever say that to yourself. You’re the finest cerebrovascular neurosurgeon that I have ever met!” She teared up a little. “I know you blame yourself for that woman who died on your table. It wasn’t your fault. Sometimes people just die, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Her watering eyes flashed hazel for just a second, but Gabriel blinked and they were brown again. “You’re afraid. You’re afraid to operate again, and you’re afraid to love!” she burst into overdramatic tears.

 

   “This is ridiculous, I’m getting out of here,” Cas growled, shoving past Dr Piccolo.

 

   At that moment, there was a commotion down the corridor and a man burst out of a side room, almost colliding with Cas.

 

   “Why won’t you give my wife that experimental face transplant, you monster? It could save her life!”

 

   Cas shrugged him off and walked on. “No. Go away. Gabriel, why does everyone cry on this television show?”

 

   Gabriel saw the man stare after Cas, then reach into his coat with one shaking hand. Before he could step forwards, before he could even yell a warning, the man had whipped out a small pistol and fired. Gabriel snatched the gun out of his grip and shoved him backwards, then he was racing towards Cas.

 

   Cas seemed to keel over in slow motion, falling to his knees first, an arm wavering out for support. His fingers fisted into the bottom of Gabriel’s white coat.

 

   “Cassie? Cas, you okay?”

 

   “Real,” Cas choked, “It’s real.”

 

   Panic started to rise as he looked at the little hole perforating the back of his brother’s white lab coat. No, not again. The trickster couldn’t do this to him again. Gabriel turned and called out, “Help! We need a doctor over here!”

 

   Gabriel got dragged along with the following bustle, and somehow he found himself in surgery, gloves on and one of those stupid hair nets. He could have sworn that there were meant to be more hygiene procedures than this.

 

   “BP’s 80/50 and dropping,” Said one of the assistants, handing him a scalpel. “Doctor?”

 

   Gabriel looked up from the sluggishly bleeding hole in Cas’ back, surprised. “Huh? What?”

 

   The assistants looked at him expectantly. Fuck. He didn’t have a clue what he was doing.

 

   “Gabriel,” Cas hissed from where he was strapped face down on the table, “Are you going to take it out or not? Do something, come on.”

 

   Gabriel bent down and hissed into his ear. “I don’t know how to use any of this crap! They’ve got more tools than we’ve got issues!”

 

   “Well then, figure it out!”

 

   Taking a deep breath, Gabriel straightened up. Acting was easy, just putting on another mask. He could do this. “Right. I’m gonna need a sewing needle, dental floss and a fifth of whisky. Stat!” He barked and all the assistants scuttled around the room.

 

   A lot of swearing and blood later, there was a small bullet in the kidney bowl and Gabriel was putting in the last few stitches into the wound. It had been too easy, much too easy, but he wasn’t going to book Loki’s gift horses into the orthodontist. He stepped back a little to admire his handiwork; maybe he should enter a sewing competition. He had always wanted to try his hand at embroidery.

 

   “How’s it looking?” Cas asked, sounding much too cheerful for someone who had just had a bullet dug out of his back using a pen knife.

 

   “Well, unfortunately they couldn’t do anything about your ugly mug, but other than that you’ll live.”

 

   He happened to glance up and see Dr Piccolo plastered to the window making doe eyes at him. He shuddered slightly.

 

   From far away he heard splashing and cheering and frowned slightly. That was out of place in a hospital. Wait, where were-

 

   The world slipped sideways into static like a rug yanked from under their feet, and the watery sounds filled their ears as they stepped out into a new landscape.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel laughed. He had tried not to; after all, they had been trapped by a possibly murderous god in a world of his own creation, but this was too funny. He laughed until his sides hurt and there were tears running down his face.

 

   “This is not funny, Gabriel,” Cas panted, dripping wet, red-faced with exertion, wearing the most ridiculous pair of bright green shorts ever designed by man and, randomly, a bobble hat. Somehow that had managed to stay on the entire way around the obstacle course, even when he’d been dunked unceremoniously into the water after coming a cropper on an obstacle called the bouncing balls. The _bouncing balls_.

 

   There was a slow motion replay still going on on a screen in front of them; Cas’ face scrunched comically as he face-planted, the graceful ripple as the giant red ball threw him off like a bucking bull, the flailing of awkward limbs as he flew through the air, and the dramatic splash as he fell into the muddy waters below. Gabriel cackled and Cas scowled as the commentator started up again.

 

   _“And for our next contestant we have Gabriel Shurley! Will he defeat the bouncing balls? Or will he be thrown into the watery depths like so many before him?”_

 

   Gabriel’s laughter stopped immediately and Cas’ expression turned smug. The fake crowd cheered.

 

   “Your turn, Gabriel.”

 

   Oh no. This was bad. “Cas, come on, how do you do it? You know I can’t swim very well!”

 

   There was a ripping sound and, unexpectedly, Dean tumbled out of mid-air next to them. He picked himself up and dusted himself off, looking around in confusion and annoyance. The fake crowd booed.

 

   “Where the hell is this? I’ve been looking everywhere, you’ve been missing for days! Wow,” He caught sight of Cas, who was still dripping slowly, and coughed awkwardly, carefully not looking anywhere but his face. “Nice hat, Cas. It really brings out your eyes.” Cas scowled at him. “Right, let’s get out of here.”

 

   He reached towards them both, but before he could touch them he vanished in a blur of static, like something had yanked him back.

 

   They jumped and looked around warily, but then the commentator gave a slow chuckle.

 

   “ _We don’t like bad boy angels, now, do we? So, on with our next contestant!”_

 

   “Wait!” Gabriel yelled, but it was too late, he was sucked forwards by some unseen force until he was standing on the starting podium. The faceless crowd cheered, and no matter how hard he tried to get his legs to move to jump off the podium, to run away, he couldn’t. He felt his fear rising, his breath coming rapid as he faced off against the near impossible challenge ahead. He didn’t want to drown in the muddy waters of a small budget obstacle course show!

 

   He racked his brains, thinking about what the trickster had told them just before he abandoned them to death by bad television. He had told them to play along. And in the Dr Sexy mashup, that’s what they had done, and when they had done that they had gotten out. Maybe that was the key?

 

   The starting whistle blew and with a gulp, Gabriel set off running. His legs being rather short, jumping usually wasn’t what he was good at. Strength and flexibility could only get you so far when trying to cross a two meter gap.

 

   But to his shock he vaulted, leapt and skipped through the entire course, springing from the bouncing balls onto the finish podium and slamming his fist onto the red button. He raised his fists to the cheering crowd in victory, laughing with surprise and exhilaration.

 

   Cas still looked unimpressed, probably because he still had on his damp bobble hat, which didn’t appear to want to come off.

 

   “How did you do that?”

 

   “Just playing the game, bro!” Gabriel said, and he just had time to take another bow before the world dissolved into static again.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel hated sitcoms, and this experience wasn’t doing anything to change his opinions. The scenery was almost too bright, the colours oversaturated, but at least he and Cas were back in their normal clothes (if you could call a trenchcoat normal). Also, playing their roles was proving to keep them out of mortal peril until they could catch up to the trickster.

 

   “You’ve been doing… research?”

 

   Gabriel only rolled his eyes a little at Cas’ horribly stilted speech and the way he kept glancing at the camera. How could he bluff guys out of hundreds of dollars in a game of poker when he couldn’t even deliver lines properly?

 

   “Oh, yeah, all kinds of research. All night.”

 

   “Oh Gabriel!” A high, feminine voice called from behind him. “We’ve got some more research to do!” A girl stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but underwear and a smirk. A young man appeared behind her, flexing his muscles, and winked before wrapping an arm around her waist. Cue canned laughter.

 

   God, who wrote these plots? Surely Sam had better taste in television than this?

 

   “Come on, trickster! Incredible cosmic power, terrible sense of humour?” He called, dropping any pretence of following the script as he turned to Cas. “How long have we been in here now?” He had started to lose count after they switched programs for the fifth time.

 

   Cas looked tired. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s going to keep us here until we die.”

 

   The fake audience roared with laughter.

 

   “That’s not funny, you vultures!” Gabriel shouted. Damn, he hated laugh tracks.

 

   The door burst open and Dean stumbled in, the fake audience switching in an instant to booing and hissing. Gabriel was relieved for a second, then he noticed the cut across the bridge of his nose and the grazes on the angel’s face. His eyes were wild and his clothes rumpled as he strode across the stage towards them.

 

   “What the hell happened to you?”

 

   Dean ignored him. “Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here.”

 

   “What about the trickster?”

 

   Dean looked confused for a second, then shook his head. “I’ve got no idea what this fugly thing is, but it’s definitely not a trickster. Way too powerful.”

 

   Dean stretched out his fingers to whisk them away, but again he was yanked back, this time just thrown against the wall rather than getting pulled out of the program altogether. When he turned, Gabriel saw that there was tape stretched across his mouth, his eyes looking around wildly for the culprit.

 

   The door opened again and the trickster walked in, looking in bemusement at the audience, who had started applauding wildly. Dean’s eyes went wide and he made a muffled sound behind the tape. Why was he so surprised to see him? The trickster grinned at Dean slyly.

 

   “Hi, Dean,” He said. Dean’s eyes darted over to Cas, still wide with shock. Dean knew Sam somehow, Gabriel realised. Then the trickster made a casual flicking motion with two fingers and Dean vanished in a buzz of static.

 

   Cas strode forwards, full of righteous fury. “Where have you taken him?”

 

   Sam waved a hand, unconcerned. “Oh, don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine. Probably.”

 

   “I’m done with your games,” Cas growled, getting up into Sam’s space. Sam didn’t back down. “We get it.”

 

   Sam cocked his head, looking mockingly sceptical. “Do you really?”

 

   “We have to play our roles.”

 

   “That’s only half the game. What about out there, in the real world?” Sam waved a hand towards where Gabriel was standing, “Gabriel, starring as Lucifer! Castiel, starring as Michael! You know, the whole celebrity death match. Play your roles.”

 

   Cas might have been standing right in front of him, but Sam’s eyes were fastened onto Gabriel over his shoulder.

 

   Something wasn’t adding up here. The trickster didn’t have a motive to get them to say the big Yes. Why would a trickster god want to get caught up in the supermassive shitstorm that was the apocalypse? But he was looking pretty desperate for them to agree. Gabriel decided to play for time and figure out what it was. Motive was important. Hell, they might yet manage to get him onto their side.

 

   “You actually want us to say yes to those S.O.B.s? Well doesn’t that sound like fun,” Gabriel drawled. “You know what, we might pass on being angel condoms. Bit too much like hard work for us.”

 

   “Well, too bad. The clock’s ticking.” There was something dark hidden under Sam’s joking demeanour, and Gabriel could see it through the cracks. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, all his supernatural senses tingling to tell him not to push it. But Gabriel had never really been good at doing what he was told.

 

   “You really want this? Why? We do this and the world will end. Bam, the party’s over, the fat lady’s singing.”

 

   “Oh yeah? And whose fault is that? Who popped the top off Lucifer’s box?” Sam raised his sharp eyebrows at Gabriel and he fought down the guilt. Sam sighed, frustrated, and pushed a hand through his hair. For a second, he just looked tired, like the years were wearing down his too young body. “Look, it’s started, and it can’t be stopped. So let’s get this over with.”

 

   Cas was squinting at him. “Are you on Lucifer’s side or Michael’s?”

 

   Sam snorted. “Neither. Believe me, I don’t work for either of those assholes.”

 

   “No, I don’t believe that. You’re somebody’s little bitch. Either that or you’re just some abomination that we have to kill.”

 

   Apparently that hit a nerve because Sam’s face suddenly twisted up ugly and dark and terrifying in rage, then he grabbed Cas by the collar and slammed him effortlessly against the wall, toes dangling off the floor. Gabriel started forwards but hesitated.

 

   “Don’t you ever, _ever_ presume to know what I am, or what I do,” the trickster growled through his teeth. He held Cas to the wall easily with one hand and turned to address Gabriel, actually angry now.

 

   “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re both going to suck it up, and play your destiny given roles.”

 

   “And if we don’t?” Gabriel asked, answering anger bubbling up in the pit of his stomach.

 

   “Then I’ll keep you here in TV land. Forever.” Sam smiled at him, but it was a grim smile. “Five hundred channels, and… nothing’s on.”

 

   With a snap, the world dissolved into static again.

 

.o0o.

 

   A Herpexia commercial, a cop show and an ironic episode of Scooby-do involving Gabriel playing the villain dressed as the devil later, Gabriel wasn’t angry anymore. He was just plain exhausted.

 

   He watched with a detached fascination as whales floated past him, their grumbling moans not quite loud enough to cover the voice-over that was echoing through the water.

 

   “ _This footage shows the mating rituals of the right whale, filmed in the wild for the first time. Males compete with each other to copulate with the female using their eight foot long penises. Their testes weigh up to half a tonne-_ ”

 

   Gabriel whistled in appreciation, his breathing undisrupted despite being underwater, and laughed when Cas rolled his eyes. “What? Those whales make _me_ feel inadequate, and let me tell you that’s not an easy feat.”

 

   Cas grimaced. “I swear that your sense of humour hasn’t improved since you were ten years old, Gabriel.”

 

   Gabriel grinned and let the sultry voice of the commentator wash over him. After his anger after the confrontation with the trickster had died down, he had realised that their best chance of catching him with his pants around his ankles was to play along, go about it the smart way. At least the nature documentaries didn’t seem to demand much interaction, and even if they couldn’t find a way out of this one it gave them a chance to rest.

 

   He sighed, and a school of small fish darted past him. It was looking less and less like recruiting the trickster was an option, which was a pity.

 

   The scene switched and they were suddenly standing with the heat of an amazingly realistic sun beating down on their backs where they stood in the middle of a grassy plain covered in flat, lumpy mud structures that towered over them. The voice fell silent expectantly.

 

   Gabriel perched himself on the crumbled remains of one of the mud pillars. “Hey, bro, looks like you’re up to bat.” Cas looked at him askance. “What? Hey, I narrated the bit about the elephant seals fighting. It’s your go.”

 

   “You didn’t narrate it, you called it out like a wrestling commentator and allocated them scores,” Cas muttered under his breath.

 

   Gabriel gave him a push. “Yeah, well, your eager audience is waiting. Go tell them about the oversized termite mounds.”

 

   With a sigh, Cas stepped forwards like an awkward teen asked to do a class presentation. Gabriel sat back, and began to plan.

 

.o0o.

 

   He finally managed to catch the trickster unawares in the middle of a _vegan cookery show_ , of all things. The smell of raw kale had been the final straw, so he really hoped that they weren’t being broadcast live anywhere when he flipped out and stabbed the kitchen assistant with the beautiful hazel eyes through the chest with a broken-off chair leg.

 

   Gabriel looked up into those gold-rimmed pupils and watched the light go out in them for the second time. His heart seemed to jolt in his chest as the scenery lurched back to the warehouse and Sam’s tall body slumped slowly to the floor, those blank eyes still staring at him accusingly.

 

   Cas looked around, confused by the abrupt change, before he caught sight of the dead trickster and nodded.

 

   Gabriel wiped a few stray drops of blood from his forehead (killing someone with a chair leg was a messy business) and tried to dispel the bad taste of regret that killing the trickster always left in his mouth. It seemed to be there no matter how many times they did it or what the trickster did to them, but Gabriel rolled his shoulders, trying to shrug it off. The trickster wouldn’t help them. He was dangerous. They had to do it. That was their job.

 

   “Come on, Cas, let’s go.” He sighed.

 

.o0o.

 

   It was dark. Wherever he was, it was very dark.

 

   He didn’t know how long he was there (it was hard to keep track of time when there was nothing to gauge it by) or how he got there, but it was long enough for him to realise that he couldn’t feel his legs. Or his arms. Or any other important parts of him, for that matter. And that was a problem, because he was very attached to his body, limbs and other bits and all.

 

   The worry crept up on him slowly, like he was drugged, or in the strange dim space between being awake and asleep.

 

   So it was a shock when he felt a _slam_ and a pressure that felt like something sitting on his chest, no that wasn’t right, that wasn’t his chest, what-?

 

   “Dammit, Gabriel, where are you?” He heard Cas growl from somewhere very close, reverberating like it did when they… were in the continental.

 

   _“Cas. Cas!”_ it took a few seconds for him to find how to control his voice and by then he was getting a horrible sinking feeling.

 

   He could somehow feel Cas squinting at him. At the dashboard, anyway. “Gabriel?”

 

   He sighed. “ _Shit on a stick. I don’t think we killed the trickster._ ” But he was confused now, and not just about the whole car thing. He had definitely stabbed the guy. Right through the heart.

 

   This wasn’t making sense. It hadn’t felt like an illusion, it hadn’t disappeared afterwards, and Gabriel was going with his gut on that one, even if he didn’t currently have one. So like Dean had said, it couldn’t be a trickster. So what would want to pretend it was? What sort of terrible creature would prefer you thought it was a destructive, sadistic demigod?

 

   Then he remembered how angry Sam had been when they were talking about the apocalypse, how obsessed he was with seeking justice, and all the pieces fell into place to make one damn ugly picture.

 

   _“I think I know what we’re dealing with,”_ He said grimly, “ _We’re going to need to drive.”_

.o0o.

 

   “ _Ow! Watch the paintwork_!” Gabriel yelped as the boot slammed shut.

 

   “Sorry,” Cas replied, not sounding sorry at all as he walked back around to the front of the bumper.

 

   “Alright, trickster!” He called. “We want to talk! We’ll do it!”

 

   Nothing. “ _Shall I honk?”_ Gabriel asked.

 

   Sam stepped out of thin air without even the rush of displaced air. “You make a great car, Gabe. Nice bodywork. Maybe I should have made you something a bit smaller, though? Like a mini?”

 

_“Bite me.”_

   Sam grinned mischievously then turned back to Castiel. “So you’re ready to play ball?”

 

   Cas narrowed his eyes. “Give Gabriel back his body first.”

 

   “You’re no fun at all.” But Sam snapped and Gabriel found himself sitting in the front seat. He slowly stepped out, shaking his wobbly limbs and scowling at Sam, making just enough of a show of it that Cas could throw the lighter down onto the ring of holy oil without Sam noticing.

 

   The greedy flames leapt up and Sam straightened, alert now like he hadn’t been with a stake pressing into his throat.

 

   “See, we’ve got a theory kiddo,” Gabriel stepped up to the ring. “Maybe you’re not a trickster at all. Maybe you’ve got wings, like kotex.”

 

   San snorted unconvincingly, his eyebrows rising and his forehead furrowing. “What, an angel? You guys are kidding, right?”

 

   “Give up the act, Sammy. It’s less convincing than a rubber chicken. Tell you what, jump out of the holy fire and we’ll call it our mistake.”

 

   Sam looked at him for a long second, the smile dropping off his face and something ancient staring through his eyes instead. Then the surrounding forest fizzled away and they were back in the warehouse.

 

   It was real this time, Gabriel knew as soon as they touched down. His heart sank. He had suspected that they had another angel on their hands, but to find out that it was true…

 

   Sam broke out the sarcastic clapping. “Well played, guys. Well played. So, where did I screw up?”

 

   Gabriel shook his head. “You didn’t. But nobody gets the jump on Dean like that. And the way you talked about Armageddon. Nobody gets that angry about things that aren’t family.” He twisted his mouth into a smirk, even though he was feeling very far from smiling at the minute. “Call it personal experience. So, which one are you? Grumpy, sneezy or… douchey?”

 

   Sam looked at him with old, dark eyes, the smiles and dimples long gone. “Samael. My name is Samael.”

 

   Thunder boomed outside, and the air in the warehouse stirred, carrying the smell of dust and electricity and petrichor, damp earth and hot metal. The flames of the circle leapt higher, throwing the shadows of wings on the wall as they had done with Dean, but Sam’s were even larger, agitated and twitching and only half-spread to avoid being singed by the holy fire. Gabriel was suddenly aware of Sam’s enormous presence in the circle, looming over them full of angry potential like a thunderhead, and he stepped back involuntarily, the primitive part of his brain shrieking _fearfearfear_. They had put a lasso on a hurricane, and expected it to stay where they wanted it to.

 

   The thunder died down and the gigantic shadow wings settled uneasily against Sam’s back, still twitching. Gabriel saw Cas staring with wide eyes and they agreed with a glance that maybe Sam was a little larger than what they had anticipated dealing with.

 

   He thought hysterically that Sam hadn’t been lying about his name, at least.

 

   “Samael? Like the devil?” Cas spoke into the heavy silence.

 

   “You’re getting me confused with my boss.” Sam’s face had changed to a stiffer, less mobile version of himself, like he was retreating inside his own skin. More angelic, like Dean had been at first. Gabriel found that he didn’t like it at all.

 

   “Hang on, your boss was Lucifer?”

 

   Sam stared at him, his body still as a statue, standing ramrod straight and imposing. “I thought we were talking about your apocalypse problem, not my job history.”

 

   “Well, I suppose with a small, family run business like heaven, you’re always gonna get stuck under your family’s skirts somehow or other.” Sam didn’t react to that splinter, so Gabriel changed tack. “So, how does an angel become a trickster?”

 

   “By sauntering vaguely downwards.” There was just the hint of a bitter grin at the corners of Sam’s lips. “I ran away from home, tried to get out of the family business. Got into witness protection. You’d think you could relate, Gabriel.”

 

   Sam’s gaze bored into him and Gabriel forced himself to stay still.

 

   “Why did you run?” Cas asked, his eyes unnaturally blue in the scant light.

 

   “Well, can you blame him? His brothers are heavyweight douchenozzels.”

 

   “Shut up!” Sam’s face twisted in anger, the first real emotion showing through the cracks since he had zapped them back to reality. “I loved Dean! I loved all of them. I didn’t want to leave, but I couldn’t bear it! The fighting? You have no idea. And then they tried to cast me down. I know where I’m not wanted, so I left. And now the first war is happening all over again.” He laughed bitterly.

 

   “So help us stop it.” Gabriel pleaded.

 

   Sam turned on him in exasperation. “What part of ‘it can’t be stopped’ don’t you get?”

 

   “What, so you want the end of the world?”

 

   “I want it to be over!” Sam bellowed, his expressive face contorting. “I have to sit back and watch my own brothers kill each other, thanks to you two!”

 

   “It doesn’t have to be like that, there has to be a way to pull the plug!” Gabriel insisted. “There’s gotta be a… heavenly emergency exit hatch somewhere!”

 

   Sam threw his head back and laughed long and ugly.

 

   “Oh, you do not know my family. This has been bubbling for an eternity. There’s no stopping this, because this isn’t about a war. This is about two brothers, who loved each other, and betrayed each other.” Gabriel glanced over and saw Cas looking his way, then turned quickly back to Sam. “Seeing a few similarities? Come on, it’s your destiny! As it is in heaven, so it shall be on earth. Why do you think I always paid so much attention to you two? Because from the moment dad flipped on the lights, we always knew it was going to end with you.” Sam’s gaze bored into him, heavy and dark. “Always.”

 

   “No.”

 

   Gabriel looked sideways to see Cas standing straight, eyes hard and blazing. “That’s not going to happen.”

 

   “I’m sorry,” And Sam did look like he really was, “But it is.”

 

   He glanced sideways at Cas, then sighed and looked away from them. “Look, guys, I wish I could do something. I wish this was a show and I could give you a happy ending. But it’s real. And it’s going to end bloody for all of us.”

 

   Gabriel steeled himself. “Well, in that case we’re going to fight until we look like raspberry jelly with bits, ‘cos we’re not giving up.” Sam looked at him in surprise.

 

   “Bring Dean back from wherever you’re keeping him.” Cas demanded.

 

   Sam frowned, then glanced back at Gabriel before lifting his hand and snapping. Dean popped into being beside them, looking a little more rumpled but not much worse for wear than he had before. He stepped forwards, eyes latched onto Sam’s rather than Cas’ for once, his face folding into a frown.

 

   Sam’s mouth quirked up into a grin. “Hey Dean. Did you miss me?”

 

   “Yeah, I missed you not being such a bitch,” Dean growled. “Teletubbies, Sam? Really?”

 

   Gabriel snickered. “Wait, you got beat up by teletubbies?” Dean spared him a disgusted glance before turning his scowl back on Sam.

 

   “What I don’t get is why you’re still looking for dad,” Sam mused, “When we both know that if he doesn’t want to be found you’re not going to find him. Dad left on a hunting trip, Dean, he’s not coming back. He doesn’t give a damn.”

 

   “You shut the hell up,” Dean snarled through gritted teeth.

 

   Cas came to stand next to Dean, putting a hand on his arm, then turned his scowl on Sam. “This isn’t about our prize fight, this is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family!”

 

   They all stood there in tense silence for a second, the brewing storm of Sam’s anger contained only by a flimsy ring of fire. Dean gave his brother one last look of disgust.  “We’re getting out of here. Come on, Cas.” He turned to go. Sam’s jaw was clenched painfully hard as he stared at his brother’s retreating back.

 

   “Woah there, hang on guys, let’s talk about this!” Gabriel said, looking between the two angels. Sam’s motives were painfully familiar, and he couldn’t let this go; he had to make Sam see. Nobody could run away from this, none of them could, and that included Sam. If they could get him to pick a side, they might actually have a chance. “Look, Sammy, I get it. You can’t get between your brothers. But do you really want Armageddon?”

 

   Sam whirled on him, eyes blazing sudden gold, bright and furious. “No! Of course not! But you guys have gone and made it the last option available!”

 

   “But what if it isn’t?” Gabriel saw the mulish expression on Sam’s face and sighed. “Look. We can’t make you do anything. You want to stay out of it, I get that. If it was up to me, I’d be sipping drinks out of a coconut on a beach somewhere and leaving this whole mess the hell alone. But you can help us without getting dragged into the middle of it. Even normal hunts. Helping us research stuff. Hell, even if you could be our piggy bank, help us out with the cost of rooms so we don’t have to keep hustling, more time for us to look for leads, right? It doesn’t have to be big scale.” Sam was looking more uncertain now, his eyes flicking between Gabriel’s unusually serious face and Dean.

 

   Gabriel sighed. “Just think it over, okay? If you want to find us, just look for the dead monsters.”

 

   He turned and walked out the door, past Cas and Dean’s surprised faces, flicking the switch for the sprinklers as he went. The fire was drowned, along with the last lingering smell of ozone. When he risked one last glance inside, the warehouse was empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have watched more of those weird water-based obstacle course shows in the last year than I have in the rest of my life, curses upon my roommates. 
> 
> Also, all information on right whales is scientifically correct according to wikipedia. I sacrificed my search history to this story.


	16. Blood and Rust and Electricity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starts at the back end of 'My bloody valentine' and goes on from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cracks knuckles* alright, we're starting to go off-road into canon divergent territory! It took me long enough, but we're here now.

 

   Gabriel walked into the diner, his footsteps quick and quiet, his veins lit up and the world on edge with the electric buzz of demon blood. His ears unnaturally sharpened, famine’s voice seemed to ring through the enclosed space.

 

   “You’re not hungry, Castiel, because inside… you’re already dead.”

 

   Satisfaction was thick in that wheezing, decayed voice, and from the shadows Gabriel saw Cas’ face dropping into what cold, withdrawn shell he put on when the world hurt too much to deal with, and decided to hell with subtlety. No one got to hurt his little brother like that.

 

   “I think you’re one to talk,” Gabriel drawled, stepping out of the shadows, making sure his voice was loud enough to carry through the silence. There was just enough surprise on famine’s nasty-ass withered face when he swung his chair around that some of it might have been genuine. Cas’ eyes snapped up again, looking at him in a combination of hope then horror as he saw the blood that Gabriel could still taste between his teeth.

 

   “Gabriel,” Famine wheezed, lips peeling up from his crooked, yellowed tombstone teeth into a gruesome smile. “What a pleasure to meet the young Boy King at last! I see you got that little snack I sent you.”

 

   Gabriel narrowed his eyes, “You sent them?” That made sense. Demons weren’t usually stupid enough to corner him and force their blood into his mouth until he gave in to. He should be revolted with himself, with the memory of his teeth embedded in the bright pulsing if their jugulars, but for now he was flying high.

 

   “Of course! You’re not like the others, you won’t die from drinking too much. There’s never enough power, is there? Such a perfect receptacle, just like Satan wanted.” Famine’s eyes gleamed bright and gleeful and he gestured backhandedly at his demon guards. “Go on, have at them! I know you want to, Gabriel. They’re all yours. Slit their throats, drink them dry!” He spread his hands wide in invitation. The demons, bright as matte paint, just looked at each other in confusion.

 

   “Gabe, no,” Cas moaned from where the demons were holding him behind famine’s chair, and as much as it was kind of insulting that Cas thought he’d cave and go for it, he kind of had a point. Self-control wasn’t exactly Gabriel’s strong suite, and he could smell the demon’s blood on the air, thick and bitter and metallic but the oh-so-sweet aftershock of electric power that made the disgusting taste worth it.

 

   “You know, as much as I’m really craving a cranberry smoothie right now…” Gabriel reached out with his mind, as strong now as he had been when he had crushed Lilith. It was almost too easy to overpower the demons. He dragged them out of their vessels like snails out of their shells. “I think I’ll pass.”

 

   He tried to hide his stagger at the end, the way his speech wanted to slur. Twenty demons, as weak as they were, weren’t easy to subdue, but he would need his strength for the next part of the plan to work. I mean, what self-respecting horseman would pass up on twenty juicy souls?

 

   Disappointment was obvious on famine’s face, but he shrugged. “Well, if you won’t have them, then I will,” and he opened his mouth cavernously wide and the demons, who Gabriel had been keeping at bay on the floor, were sucked in like famine was some kind of ravenous black hole.

 

   The mouth shut like a snapping turtle after the last of the black smoke vanished down famine’s gullet, and Gabriel grinned in bloody victory; it was too late now, he’d won. Because as much as his powers wouldn’t work on a horseman, they definitely would work on those demons.

 

   He raised his hand, throwing his mind forwards again and grasped the demons wailing inside famine’s stomach, making them burn hot-bright _,_ and famine shuddered as he was lit up from the inside. It was getting harder, but he had to hang on, he had to keep going, his head thrown back on a howl as he clenched his outstretched fist and screwed his eyes shut, pouring all of that energy and hatred into the demons until there was nothing left.

 

   He was done. It was over.

 

   Gabriel slumped, his shaking hands finding a chair that he could sink into before his knees buckled. He concentrated on breathing, trying to calm his heaving chest, the heart that felt like it weighed a hundred stone and was pounding on his ribs to get out.

 

   He closed his eyes for a second, or it might have been longer, but suddenly Cas was hovering in front of him, Dean at his shoulder looking shifty and ashamed. He could see the conflict in their eyes, the horror at the blood on his face, the gratefulness that he had managed to salvage what they thought had been a hopeless situation.

 

   Cas held out a hand. “Come on, let’s go home.”

 

   Gabriel took it, and allowed it to pull him up.

 

.o0o.

 

   This time, he walked into the panic room under his own steam.

 

   He even let them strap him down to the cot, remembering the god awful cuff-burn he had received the last time; he cracked jokes the whole way through it, trying to ease the guilt that he could see in Cas’ eyes and the grim lines around Josh’s mouth.

 

   As soon as they were out of the room, he let the fake smirk go and sighed, dropping his head back onto the pillow. Knowing what was coming wasn’t helping. He was already feeling hot and sweaty with the withdrawal, shakes slowly working their way down his arms and legs. And where fever comes, hallucinations are sure to follow. Fun times.

 

   It didn’t take long to start.

 

………

 

   It probably should have occurred to Gabriel sooner than it did that the hallucinations never appeared more than one at a time. But with fake Cas’ voice shouting into his ear that he was a freak and he should have taken their father’s advice and killed him from the start, it was a little hard to concentrate.

 

   So he didn’t notice Sam standing in the corner for a while, and when he did it was under the assumption that nothing he saw or felt was real. Alastair had shown up earlier and given him a close-up introduction to his own intestines, so Gabriel wasn’t exactly taking what his senses were telling him seriously.

 

   Eventually, Cas’ angry voice faded and Gabriel looked up at the apparition.

 

   “Come on, then, lay it on me.” He croaked.

 

   Sam just stood there, looking indecisive and constipated.

 

  “You’re a pretty pathetic illusion, you know that? Not remotely terrifying or emotionally scarring at all. One out of ten, would not hallucinate again.” 

 

   That seemed to irritate the projection of his failings, and it stepped closer to the bed. Ah, this was more like it, back to predictable behaviour. Gabriel closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain.

 

   “Gabriel? What the fuck happened?”

 

   He felt a shadow cross his face and opened his eyes again. Sam was looming over him, blocking out the dim light filtering down from the fan above, concerned eyes peeking out from under his heavy brows and forehead wrinkled up like a paper jam in a printer. Maybe not an illusion, then.

 

   “I only just managed to track you, what the hell have you been doing? Is that more demon blood?” Sam looked horrified and disgusted and a little disappointed, and Gabriel flinched back in shame, snarling at him.

 

   “It was famine, okay? It wasn’t exactly voluntary.” Of course, famine couldn’t do anything except amplify what was already there, but Gabriel was trying very hard not to remember that.

 

   Sam’s expression immediately morphed into a pair of sympathetic puppy eyes. “Gabriel, I’m so sorry.”

 

   “Why are you sorry? It wasn’t as if you were there to do anything about it,” Gabriel snapped, then a second later his conscience returned from its coffee break and he regretted saying that. That wasn’t fair, but he was tired and feverish and his head felt like dwarves were harvesting his brain tissue using tiny mallets. He sighed, squeezing his eyes shut and swallowing back an apology.

 

   “Gabriel, it’s not that I won’t help, I can’t,” Sam was pretty much wringing his hands. He looked so different now from that terrifying creature that they had trapped in the warehouse. “There’s no good way to get the blood out of your system.”

 

   “You think I care about finding a good way?” Gabriel snapped, the withdrawal flaring up in earnest, “I’ll take any way. I don’t care!”

 

   His blood felt like it was burning in his veins now, actually burning, and when he looked down at his shaking hands the veins were black against his skin, the poison and the filth showing him for what he truly was. He knew it was an illusion, but that didn’t matter. Blind panic rose through him like nausea and he heard himself begging, his voice strange and thin; “Help, Sam! Help me! Help!”

 

   Through the fire and the sound of ringing in his ears, he heard Sam growling something, then there was a loud _crack_ as the binding on his wrists and ankles snapped off and Sam hauled him upright.

 

   A palm was slapped over his forehead and a wash of prickling cool swept through him, the flames receding.

 

   “Jesus,” Gabriel gasped roughly, trying to control his shuddering breathing as the dark spots cleared from his vision.

 

   “Not quite,” Sam said dryly. Gabriel glared up at him half-heartedly.

 

   Eventually he managed to calm his breathing a little, and then the challenge was trying not react to being held so close to Sam. He was close enough to smell him, the familiar warm musk of human skin, but under that there was something strange and otherworldly, the sharp smells of deep forests and approaching rain and fire smoke. It turned out that when propped up by a muscled arm his stupid body didn’t listen to little details like ‘killed Cas a hundred times’.

 

   Sam was still inspecting him from uncomfortably close with a grim expression. “I can’t heal you directly with my Grace, the blood’s too strong. It’s in you too deep. I can hold it back, and not for much longer.” Gabriel noticed with alarm that there were already strain lines deepening around Sam’s eyes, sweat beading on his forehead. It should not have been a good look on him, and now was really not the time.

 

   Determined not to be affected by his body’s betrayal, Gabriel scowled at Sam. “Seriously? There’s nothing you can do? Fat lot of good you angels are! All-powerful, my left ass cheek!”

 

   “Of course we’re not all powerful!” Sam snapped.

 

   Suddenly, Gabriel realised something and narrowed his eyes, trying to think through the pounding in his skull. “Wait, you said that there were no _good_ ways, suggesting that there is actually a way.”

 

   “Well, you’re not going to like it at all, and you’re never going to agree to it, so there wasn’t any point in telling you!”

 

   A sick wave of burning, raging, snarling _need_ washed over him as the influence of the blood started to come to the fore again. “Just tell me, for fuck’s sake!”

 

   “Alright, fine! You’ll have to drink my blood.”

 

   Gabriel gave a short laugh then looked up into Sam’s dark eyes. “You’re serious?”

 

   “Yeah, I am! It’s more of a pagan thing, but if I use my Grace as well I think I can burn the demon blood out. But we’ll be bound. Look, you don’t want to, it’s fine. I’m not even sure that it would work anyway.”

 

   Gabriel hesitated, remembering all the promises he had ever made to himself and to Cas about not going within tongue range of demon blood ever again, the smell and the vile taste of it. And what was that about binding? Then the hunger twisted inside Gabriel’s brain, and his resolution wavered. Angel blood had to be better than demon blood, right?

 

   “Is angel blood addictive? Is it gonna kill me or turn me evil?”

 

   Sam looked down at him, surprised. “Um, no? I don’t think so?”

 

   “Then you know what? It’s worth a shot. Let’s get this party started. I’ll do it.”

 

   Sam raised his eyebrows even further and his concentration on blocking the effects of the demon blood must have wavered, and Gabriel shuddered as another tsunami of fevered need washed through him.

 

   “Are you sure? I told you, I don’t even know if this will work or not, there isn’t exactly a guidebook for this, don’t you think-”

 

   “Just do it!” Gabriel yelled.

 

   Sam took one more look at Gabriel’s desperate face and seemed to make up his mind because he whipped his angel blade out of the inside of his jacket. He carefully rested the pointed end on the tender skin of the inside of his forearm and drew a short line of scarlet down the wrist. As soon as the silver blade split the skin Gabriel could smell it, sharper than demon blood, more acidic and less cloying. Then before he could register anything else there was skin pressed against his mouth and a firm arm around his back, a broad palm cradling his head, pressing him more firmly against Sam’s body.

 

   And it was just as well he had, because then the blood was flowing over the back of Gabriel’s tongue and down his throat, and if the demon blood had been a spark of electricity then this was an entire thunderstorm pouring into him. He felt Sam’s arm reflexively clamp him closer, keeping him still as his body bucked against the hold and a scream tried to force its way out, the sound muffled by Sam’s forearm. His veins were alight, his insides were magma; the blood roared through him, tearing him to shreds and reforging him in its wake. There was bright light all around, seeping out of Sam, seeping out of him. Sam shuddered above him, and for half a second huge mantled wing-shadows framed Sam’s body, curled around them. Sam’s mouth was open on a groan threaded through with high painful notes, his eyes glowing a shocked wild blue and gold as though he was lightning-struck. The energy was burning through Gabriel and he could feel that it was Sam pouring into him, the Grace scorching his neurones dry, and the sensation might have felt like arousal or pain but mostly it was just too much toomuchtoomuch-

 

 

   Gabriel came back to himself some undefinable time later, still gasping on the cot. He swallowed, wincing as his dry throat clicked, and tried to sit up, but his muscles staged a violent protest so he decided that he might as well just lie there for a bit.

 

   He turned his head and unexpectedly Sam was still bracing himself on the cot, looking confused and shaken.

 

   “Well,” Gabriel croaked, “holy shit. That was intense.”

 

   Sam stammered, still pale and shaky looking. “I don’t know… that wasn’t…”

 

   “You know what? I think it worked!” Now that the shock had worn off, Gabriel realised that the hunger that was usually gnawing at the back of his mind was just- gone. Not muted, like it usually was, but properly _gone_. He felt wiped clean, the dirty edge of the demon blood vanished.

 

   He tried sitting up again and grimaced when he felt a patch of damp in his underwear. It took him a moment to realise just what it was. “Umm…”

 

   The top of Sam’s sharp cheekbones blushed scarlet. “There may have been some unexpected… side effects.” He gave his own uncomfortable shift, then sat down gingerly on the very edge of the cot with his long legs stretched out straight in front of him and sighed, looking drained. “Well, I’m glad it worked, anyway.”

 

   “Thanks, I mean it,” Gabriel said sincerely. He would take a thousand embarrassing unscheduled orgasms over demon blood addiction any day.

 

   Sam reached out a long-fingered hand hesitantly. “May I?”

 

   Gabriel paused warily, then leant forwards into the touch. As soon as Sam’s fingertips brushed his forehead his body was clean again, the sweat and dirt of tackling famine and the blood withdrawal gone. He sighed with relief and Sam leant back.

 

   “So does this mean you’re on our side now?”

 

   Sam just worked his jaw, looking conflicted, and Gabriel regretted saying anything. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. You’re… you’re something else, Sam.” He shook his head and grinned tiredly. When he turned back Gabriel caught Sam staring at him, sitting very still, his eyes dark and intense and unnervingly angelic. “What?” He asked.

 

   Sam started and looked away, his features going mobile once more. “Sorry. It’s just that you remind me of someone I… knew once.”

 

   Gabriel snorted. “Who, a mark? Some randomer? Please don’t tell me I remind you of Satan, I’ve had too much of that recently.”

 

   Sam was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “Her name was Jessica,” He murmured, almost whispered, “Or that’s the closest you would get to her name nowadays.”

 

   Gabriel had the sudden feeling that this story was a lot bigger and more private than he had anticipated, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to hear it. He tried to change the subject.

 

   “So, how does an angel end up slumming it as a trickster? Does it come with dental?”

 

   Sam snorted. “Definitely not. I take it Dean hasn’t told you about us?”

 

   “No,” Gabriel said warily.

 

   Sam leant back, getting comfortable before he started telling the story. “We go way back, before the fall of Lucifer. Me and Dean were pretty high up the celestial chain of command. We were sort of a package deal; we were created together, more like actual brothers than the others. He was Michael’s right hand man, and I was Lucifer’s.”

 

   “You served under Lucifer?” Gabriel asked, curious.

 

   “Yeah. Me and Dean were part of… hmm. You might have called me a heavenly lawyer, or a judge. I decided what punishment to give, and then Dean would come along and carry out the sentence. We both commanded legions of other angels. It worked well, most of the time, until Lucifer started weighing in more on my work. That’s probably why our names became synonymous eventually. I agreed with his ideas to a certain extent, at least at first. I definitely agreed with the whole free will thing. You have to understand, Lucifer can be very persuasive if he wants to be. He won’t tell you lies, but he always twists the truth.”

 

   “Yeah, tell me about it,” Gabriel muttered.

 

   Sam gave him a curious look and continued. “Anyway, Lucifer’s opinions on humanity got more and more extreme, and the rest is history. There was a massive fight around the dinner table, God kicks his favourite son out of the house, then leaves to go to the pub and never comes back. The fighting got better at first after Lucifer was banished, but it was never really gone after that. Heaven was constantly uneasy, and Dean and I started spending more and more time on Earth, finding that we preferred travelling among the humans than our other brothers. We hid in the seventies using time travel.”

 

   “We could tell by Dean’s music tastes,” Gabriel commented.

 

   “Then I met her.” Sam’s eyes went far away, and Gabriel squashed a stab of jealousy. “Her soul was beautiful. I was in love; when they told me to come home, I couldn’t. Relationships with humans were rather frowned upon by heaven, you’ve probably heard about what happened with the Nephilim, and let’s just say that they weren’t happy. Michael himself came down to pull me back upstairs, but I struggled. Dean tried to defend me, but Zachariah and his cohort held him off. I was badly injured, so I faked my death and got away, ran off to join the pagans.”

 

   Sam said all of this in a kind of dispassionate, detached way, but Gabriel had practice with reading emotionally stunted people and could see the emotions boiling beneath the surface. Hesitantly, he reached out and put a hand on the rock hard flesh of Sam’s arm. Sam blinked in surprise and looked down, and then he sagged, his skin going soft and human under the touch as the breath sighed out of him.

 

   “What about Jess?” Gabriel asked, although he felt as though he already knew the answer.

 

   Sam shook his head. “Gone.”

 

   They sat together for a second, Gabriel thinking about all the mythology he had found over that long six months. “Wait, how long ago was all this?”

 

   Sam waved a hand carelessly. “A couple of millennia, I didn’t really pay attention. I got lost as Loki for a long time. I did a lot of things I regret.” Sam’s mouth set grimly and Gabriel rubbed his arm consolingly. He could relate.

 

   “I know that they punished Dean for my actions as well. It wasn’t fair, but we were so close that they must have figured that he had something to do with it. They basically ripped his Grace in half for daring to stand up for me and demoted him to leading a tiny garrison at the bottom of the pecking order. He thought I was dead until you guys found me in TV land. It was the only way I could keep him safe. I can’t imagine he wants to see me very much.”

 

   “Ripped his Grace in half? Wait- so Dean was even more powerful back then?”

 

   Sam almost smiled at him. “Of course. We were both more powerful when we were plugged into heaven’s source. You guys seem to know about the tiers in heavenly hierarchy, yeah? Cupids, then seraphs, then archangels at the top.” Sam’s hands waved around in a vague stacking gesture. “Well, power wise, it’s more complex than that. Dean and I were technically in the same tier as Michael and Lucifer, so we were archangels, but we were less powerful, more practical. Built for handling the everyday running of heaven and earth rather than the occasional world-changing event. We were warriors as well as leaders, like the seraphim, but much more powerful. But still nothing against the true archangels.”

 

   Sam was looking grim again, probably at the thought of having to take on Lucifer. He stood, stretching up to his full height. “Anyway, I need to go. That blood ritual probably sent up a flare, and if anyone caught onto it I don’t want to lead them here.”

 

   Gabriel’s stomach twisted strangely at the thought of Sam leaving. “Okay. Just… don’t be a stranger, yeah? To be honest…” he ran a hand through his hair self-consciously. “It would be nice just to have someone to talk to, even if you can’t help us. We get it. But talking to you… let’s just say, Cas isn’t exactly the soul of the party, and I’ve been craving some decent conversation.”

 

   Gabriel half hoped that Sam could hear the words under that as well; _when you’re here, I’m not so lonely, even if we do end up talking about the end of the world together. I like having you around, but I don’t know why_. Because actually saying them would mean making himself more fragile and open than he had in years, and he didn’t think he could do it.

 

   Sam’s face softened a little though, so maybe he got the memo. “I will do. Oh, before I go, I have something to tell you,” suddenly he looked a little nervous. “So, you remember how I trapped you for six months?”

 

   “Vividly,” Gabriel said dryly.

 

   Sam coughed awkwardly. “Sorry. Anyway, my Grace and your soul got a bit tangled up for some reason. I bet Dad has something to do with it in his infinite wisdom. So now I’m sort of… your guardian angel?” He grimaced sheepishly.

 

   “What… How…Why?” Gabriel finally got out. “Why would he do that? And Dean’s been looking for him, why hasn’t he shown himself?”

 

   “He’s God,” Sam grumbled, “He’s not ever going to interfere and do anything actually _useful_ , is he? He’s probably out there somewhere using his powers of universal creation to make more beer and summon strippers.”

 

   Gabriel hummed thoughtfully. The news that they were bound was less shocking to him than he would have expected, but maybe he had known that they were connected somehow for a while. “I dunno, maybe it can be useful. With our track record we need all the help we can get. Can you use it to find me? What does it actually do?”

 

   “Well, my Grace is bonded to your soul, so there’s a telepathic link between us. It’s probably even stronger now that we’re blood-bound as well, actually. It makes any prayers much easier for me to hear, and yeah, I can find you. But… it also makes privacy kind of awkward. I’ve been trying not to read your mind and to stop stuff slipping through from my end, but sometimes you feel things really strongly, and… yeah. So, I know you’ve been having dreams about me.”

 

   Gabriel froze, his mouth going dry. “Dreams?” Oh god, which dreams, please say he didn’t know about the ones where they were-

 

   “Yeah, you keep sucking me into some of them. You have a really strong soul.”

 

   Oh god. He knew. In between Gabriel’s internal screams of horrified mortification, a small voice commented that actually, this did explain why ‘dream Sam’ had looked a little confused on more than one occasion.

 

   “Wait. So were you there any of the times when we were actually- you know-”

 

   Sam grinned impishly. “No, we’ve never had sex. But you have propositioned me. Several times.”

 

   Gabriel groaned in horror. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was actually you, okay?”

 

   “Yeah, I know.” Sam winked. “That’s why I didn’t say yes. Just letting you know. See you around, Gabriel.”

 

   Before Gabriel even had time to process that Sam stood and vanished with a gentle _whup-whuf_ of wings, dragging a breeze through the stuffy basement. As soon as he was gone Gabriel groaned loudly, raking his hands down his face, a montage of all the dreams that had featured what he realised now was _actually Sam_ flashing before his eyes. And he had never realised! How could he have been so _stupid_? Lucifer was never going to get the chance to wear him to prom, because he was going to die of embarrassment right here, right now.

 

   At least they hadn’t actually done the nasty while he was oblivious, and Sam hadn’t seemed too bothered by the whole thing. Gabriel hoped to hell Dean and Cas never found out about this or he’d never live it down.

 

   Then the last thing Sam had said sunk in. Wait, did he mean the _only_ reason he’d said no was because Gabriel hadn’t known it was him? Which suggested…

 

   Had he really just been propositioned by an angel of the Lord?

 

   Gabriel groaned again and heaved himself off the cot, his muscles still aching from the aftereffects of the withdrawal, trying to put the whole thing behind him. It was too late to deal with this, he needed to sleep. Hopefully he wouldn’t accidentally come on to any more angels in his dreams.

 

   Anyway, he had his brother to deal with first. Should he tell Cas about Sam?

 

   He debated for a second and decided not. Because there was no way he was telling Cas that he was soul bonded or whatever to Sam, never mind the blood drinking. Even if he left out those bits, when Cas heard that Sam had managed to break into the panic room, he would be down there trying to set up angel sigils, and Gabriel didn’t need Cas wasting his time trying to ward against something that could find Gabriel anyway by the sound of it.

 

   Cas didn’t trust Sam, but Gabriel was sure that it wasn’t him they had to worry about. He understood Sam. He had already been _soul bonded_ to the guy unknowingly and been summoning him into his dreams for months. If Sam hadn’t gone crazy and tried to possess him by now, he probably wasn’t going to. But Cas wouldn’t see it like that, he would worry. Best to keep it to himself for now.

 

    Now all he needed to do was make up something convincing for why he had recovered from the demon blood so quickly. Gabriel squared his shoulders and prepared himself to go upstairs and face the music.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean will probably find out about this at some point. Gabriel is right; he'll never let him live it down.


	17. Hammering the Gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reworking of 'Hammer of the gods'. Some gore, but really, about as graphic as the show

   The rain was pounding the asphalt of the parking lot so hard that droplets leapt a foot from the ground. They pulled up to the hotel through the downpour, Cas squinting through the frantic wipers and the water washing down the windshield as they pulled to a cautious stop.

 

   They ran into the foyer as fast as they could once they were out the car, Gabriel holding his coat over his head to keep the worst of the water off, then slowed to a dripping halt in the entrance hall. The bright lighting and soft music past the doors made a sharp contrast to the storm outside. Gabriel shook off his jacket, grimacing at the drenched fabric, then laughed when he noticed the way Cas’ hair was plastered to his head.

 

   “Can I help you?” The thin faced man behind the desk asked them, his small lips pursing. Just then Gabriel looked around properly and realised exactly how fancy the hotel was that they had ended up in- it definitely wasn’t one of their usual dives, but the storm had become too bad to drive in. Was that an actual _chandelier_ hanging from the ceiling?

 

   “Yes, please could we have a twin room?” Cas requested. The man nodded, looking down his long nose at them, and Gabriel bristled.

 

   “Come on, Cas, this place thinks it’s too good for the likes of us. We should have driven on to a motel like I said.” He muttered, just loud enough to be heard by the man behind the counter.

 

   “No, please, everyone is welcome. And there is a buffet on tonight. There will be cake.”

 

   Gabriel’s eyes lit up. “Cake?”

 

   Cas subtly rolled his eyes.

 

   The man raised a thin eyebrow and nodded. “The best gateau in the tristate area.”

 

   Gabriel didn’t even care anymore if the guy was rude. Buffet, with cake? Count him in. He grinned and reached for his wallet, sliding a scammed credit card into the machine with a flourish.

 

   The man reached under the desk with a bored look and pushed a key fob across, scribbling in a book behind the counter with professional efficiency. “Welcome to the Elysian Fields hotel, we hope you enjoy your stay.” His lips turned up in a bland smile that didn’t reach his eyes, but Gabriel supposed that being dead inside was what working in the customer service industry did to you eventually.

 

   His still damp skin chilled slightly as a small breeze washed through the foyer. The man glanced at him, then held out a tissue with long fingers. “Here. You must have cut yourself shaving.” He indicated the side of his neck.

 

   Gabriel took the tissue, confused, then dabbed at his neck and frowned down at the stark red blot on the white paper. That was strange. He hadn’t shaved since that morning. Maybe he’d caught himself on the zip of his jacket? He hadn’t felt anything.

 

   “Thanks,” He said anyway, picking up his duffel.

 

.o0o.

 

      “Come on, Cas, live a little. So what if we didn’t get to the next town?”

 

      “You were the one telling me we should have driven on through that storm,” Cas muttered, loading his plate with fries.

 

   “Yeah, well, that was before I saw this buffet. I know we don’t often stop in swanky places like this, but it’s the end of the world, we can afford to splash out. We might as well enjoy it, ‘cos we’re probably going to die within the month.” A young woman must have overheard them because she gave them a funny look as they passed. Gabriel pulled a face at her.

 

   There weren’t many people staying at the hotel, and Gabriel wasn’t overly surprised. How did a four star hotel even stay alive on a no star highway? The smattering of guests mostly looked like they had booked in to get out of the rain, just like them. There was a pretty woman with dark hair sitting alone, munching steadily through a plate of French fries, a slightly overweight Asian guy and a family with two sulky looking teenagers and a toddler. In the corner a happy couple were giggling and feeding each other bites of pie, and Gabriel grinned at them then turned back to Cas and waggled his eyebrows, but Cas was too invested in his burger to notice.

 

   Gabriel looked a little closer and realised that Cas was frowning, staring morosely into the middle distance of his lettuce. He sighed.

 

   “Look, Cassie, you know we’re gonna find Dean, right? He’ll be fine, he ran out of Grace is all. The muttonhead’s probably stranded on a desert island somewhere drinking all the mojitos.”

 

   Cas glanced up at him and gave him a small insincere smile before going back to his burger. Gabriel gave up.

 

.o0o.

 

   They got to their room just ahead of the happy couple. Gabriel pushed open the door and blinked, laughing.

 

   “Look at this, Cassie! We need to book into classy places more often!” He took a running jump and landed on one of the beds with a bounce, rolling onto his back and spreading out his arms and legs like a starfish, delighting in the feeling of a mattress that wasn’t one bad night away from its springs bursting out and impaling him in his sleep. No funny smells, no yellow pillows, no suspicious stains. Paradise.

 

   “If I’d known that this was all it took to keep you happy, Gabriel, I would have abandoned you in a proper hotel years ago,” Cas said dryly.

 

   They were interrupted by the sound of muffled thumping and giggling from the room next door. Gabriel grinned; sounded like the honeymooners were having a good time.

 

   “Good news, Cas, sounds like the beds are sturdy. Hey, do you think there are magic finger-”

 

   Gabriel jumped as there was a loud _Bang_ from next door, the wall shuddering as something much larger and heavier than a headboard thumped against it. There was a small shriek and then the sounds cut off.

 

   They barely glanced at one another before they were moving, snatching up their weapons as they hurried out into the corridor. Gabriel opened the door of the honeymoon suite quietly, Cas creeping in behind him, head swivelling to sweep the room before heading off to check the bathroom.

 

   The couple were nowhere to be seen, and there was no obvious sign if their assailant. Gabriel frowned at the rumpled bed, then a glimmer on the floor caught his eye. He bent down to pick it up.

 

   With a sinking heart he inspected the engagement ring. There was definitely something dodgy going on. Couldn't they _ever_ catch a break?

 

.o0o.

 

   “An elephant? Gabriel, what do you mean an elephant?”

 

   “I mean like full on Babar! You were investigating the creepy desk dude, I just walked past the guy’s room and I caught a sneak peek before he got the door shut. Wait, where is everybody?”

 

  They stopped in the middle of the reception, looking around. There was nobody in sight, not even in the buffet area. The hotel hadn’t exactly been crowded before, but now the silence was different. Empty. Deserted.

 

   Something was definitely wrong. The hairs on the back of Gabriel’s neck began to prickle.

 

   Cas walked over to the front doors and tried the handle. “Locked,” he reported grimly.

 

   “So the roaches check in but they don’t check out. This is a trap. There was that detour on the highway, remember? Then that frigging hurricane just came out of nowhere. We were led here, like rats in a maze.”

 

   Gabriel drew his knife from the inside of his jacket and held it loosely. Cas had his favourite gun out of his waistband as well and caught Gabriel’s eye, motioning towards the kitchen door.

 

   They walked in cautiously, Gabriel pausing as he wandered past a bubbling pot of thick red liquid.

 

   He gave it a gentle stir with the ladle. “Please be tomato soup, please be tomato soup,” He muttered to himself. A pair of eyeballs bobbed to the surface and he grimaced, snatching his hands back.

 

   “Well, it looks like Hannibal Lector’s been cooking up some delicious, nutritious people. Got anything?”

 

   Cas was crouched by the porthole of the large walk in fridge. “I think there are people in here. Live ones.” He glanced back at Gabriel and paled, face dropping. Gabriel heard a tiny noise behind him but kept his eyes facing towards Cas.

 

   “There’s someone behind me, isn’t there?”

 

.o0o.

 

   The both stumbled as they were shoved through the double doors to the ballroom, Gabriel straightening up and snarling at the sneering burly guards before they were pushed down into chairs at the head on a long conference table.

 

   As they sat, the crowd of people who had been standing talking quietly at the top of the table turned and observed them, and Gabriel squinted at the stupid ‘my name is’ tags pinned to their chests. His eyes widened in shock as he read the names. ‘Odin’, ‘Baldur’, ‘Ganesh’. He saw the dark haired woman that he had seen at the buffet, the tag reading ‘Ruby’, and remembered images of dismembered bodies captioned with ‘The Destroyer’ from flicking through lore books.

 

   There was a gentle _ting ting ting_ of someone tapping a champagne flute, the sophisticated setting a juxtaposition to the bloody images in his head. The gods sat themselves at the table and the murmuring died to silence.

 

   A dark haired man with solid shoulders and a handsome, strong-jawed face stood up, surveying the pagans sitting at the table.

 

   “Greetings, fellow gods. I never thought in all my centauries that I would see the day when we would all be here together under one roof.”

 

   Several of the gods subtly rolled their eyes. Cas and Gabriel just glanced at one another, shocked. Gods. Oh boy, they were so screwed.

 

   “Now, before we get started properly, a couple of ground rules. No slaughtering one another. Curb your wrath. Oh, and keep your hands off the local virgins, we’re trying to keep a low profile here.” The man smiled with slight amusement, every inch the gracious host.

 

   “On to what we’re here for, the real subject being discussed tonight; the Judeo-Christian apocalypse. Everybody here is threatened by it, so we have come together to decide a plan of action, please keep that in mind. We have two very valuable bargaining chips,” He pointed down the table to where Cas and Gabriel were still sat, frozen. “The vessels of Michael and Lucifer. So, what shall we do? Any ideas? Feel free to speak up.”

 

  The gods immediately began to squabble among themselves, hard words flying across the table in a variety of languages, and Gabriel glanced over at Cas, raising an eyebrow. They were pretty distracted with each other at the minute, this might be their only chance. Cas nodded. Very slowly, they rose from the table and turned to go. So far so good, no one had noticed them getting up. They took a hesitant step towards the doors.

 

   Then they were immediately forced to jump back as the chandelier fell in front of them with a ringing crash, fragments of crystal skittering away across the floor.

 

   Everyone was struck silent by the sound, eyes fixed on their frozen forms. Slowly, Ruby, who was sat next to Baldur at the head of the table, stood.

 

   “You two aren’t going anywhere,” she said coldly. “Now. Who do I have to burn around here to get a little cooperation?”

 

   “Can’t you all even get along for five minutes?”

 

   The ballroom doors swung dramatically open again to admit a familiar tall figure, and Gabriel felt hope stir for the first time since he realised just how far in the shit pile they really were.

 

   “Sa-”

 

   Sam quickly flicked his fingers and the word got shut off with a choke. Gabriel gaped for a few seconds, jaw working. Sam ignored him, looking bored, and turned back to the gods. Gabriel supressed a stab of hurt.

 

   “So, I see you guys started the party without me. Guess my invite must have gotten lost in the mail.”

 

   Ruby nodded at him. “Loki. Good to see you again.”

 

   Sam flashed her a quick, insincere smile before turning back to the humans.

 

   “Excuse us, the grown-ups need to talk for a second.”

 

   He flicked his fingers again, and they were yanked away.

 

.o0o.

 

   They appeared back in the room they had been in before.

 

   “What the… I don’t… What the hell.” Cas said, struggling for words.

 

   “Yeah, tell me about it,” Gabriel agreed, checking the door. Locked.

 

   “So… do we have a plan?” Cas asked him, as though he had any better ideas.

 

   Gabriel blew out his cheeks. “Well, break out of here, get the main courses out of the freezer and escape with our lives. If we’re lucky.”

 

   “And when are you two ever lucky?” Sam’s voice came from behind him and Gabriel turned, scowling up into his face, his nerves crackling with Sam’s proximity. There was a tickling in the back of his mind, a nervous restlessness that felt foreign. Maybe that was what Sam had been talking about when he mentioned a telepathic link.

 

   “Sam? What the hell is happening?”

 

   Castiel was glaring over Gabriel’s shoulders at Sam. “And since when do you care? I thought you were all set for us agreeing to the apocalypse.”

 

   Gabriel winced. He probably should have told him about Sam helping with his demon blood problem, even if it would have resulted in some awkward questions. But he knew Cas. Even if he got over being mad about Gabriel drinking yet _more_ blood, if he thought that Sam was on their side, he would ask him to help them, or worse, try and get Gabriel to manipulate Sam into helping them. That would be the fastest way of ensuring that Sam never came within a continent of them ever again, if he let Cas live to tell the tale. So it had been easier to keep Cas in the dark. Until now, obviously.

 

   Sam glanced at Cas scathingly. “Actually, I don’t want it to happen, and it can’t. Not here. Not tonight.”

 

   Gabriel thought about it. “Why not just let the pagans deal with him? This many gods, they gotta stand a chance.”

 

   Sam leaned forwards towards him, brows pulled together tight and frustrated. “That’s a terrible idea. Lucifer’s going to turn them into finger paint. We need to get out of here while the going’s good.”

 

   “Well, go on then. Snap us out of here with your mystical angelic powers.”

 

   Sam looked sideways at him, as though a little embarrassed, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, I can’t. It’s Ruby, she’s got you in a blood spell. Even I can’t get out of here, it pulled me in.”

 

   “Why can’t you…” But then Sam sent Gabriel a significant look and he realised. A blood spell. Sam’s blood running through his veins, Sam’s energy mixed with his, and now Sam was stuck here the same as them. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. So he hadn’t just pulled them into the trap, he had pulled Sam in too. What a mess.

 

   Cas glanced between them, eyes narrowed, obviously aware that he had missed something but not sure what it was. “Look, we need to get everyone out, including all those people in the fridge downstairs.”

 

   Sam grimaced in frustration. “And I’m telling you, we can’t. We need to concentrate on getting ourselves out of here and snatching the blood.”

 

   Cas’ eyes narrowed further. “Well, obviously those gods downstairs don’t know who you really are, and they don’t seem very fond of angels. So you help us get them out, or we give up your identity.”

 

   Gabriel grimaced, expecting Sam to start ripping into him, but Sam had a thoughtful expression on his face.

 

   “Actually, if you bust them out, it could make a good distraction. Then, while everyone else is trying to round up the humans, I’ll snag the blood from Ruby. Good thinking.”

 

   Cas looked enraged. “We’re not using those people as bait!”

 

   Sam smiled toothily. “Well then, you’d better get them out before they catch you, hadn’t you? Here’s how it’s gonna go.”

 

.o0o.

 

   Of course, they were caught before they even got the humans out of the lock-up. Gabriel had been half tempted to say fuck it and leave the civilians to the tender mercies of the people eaters after they put up suck a ruckus that the screaming attracted the gods. Couldn’t anybody recognise a rescue party when they saw one?

 

   They were dragged into the ball room and deposited onto chairs for the second time that night. With a sinking heart, Gabriel realised that Sam’s bulk was hunched small into one of the chairs as well this time, with Ruby looming over him.

 

   “How long have you known I’m an angel?” Sam asked Ruby, face angelic-blank.

 

   Ruby grimaced in disgust. “Long enough.”

 

   “How’s the rescue going?” Castiel asked him with his terribly timed deadpan humour.

 

   Sam turned his head to give him what could only be described as a bitchface before turning back to Ruby.

 

   “He’s a spy,” she said in disgust, turning to the other gods, pointing at Sam with arrogant judgment. “He’s always been a spy.”

 

   “Ruby, I swear I’m not. I’m a runaway, I’m trying to help you!” Sam was looking up at her, his expressive eyes now wide and pleading, but Ruby’s face remained like stone.

 

   She leant forwards, trailing a finger down Sam’s throat before reaching into his jacket. He was as still as a deer frozen in headlights as she pulled out his blade, long and silver and shining.

 

   “Ruby,” Sam said quietly, “Don’t do this.”

 

   “Angels. How fucking arrogant,” Ruby looked so angry that she was actually shaking. “You think you can just end the world? That your God is the only god? There are billions of us, and we were here first. If anyone gets to end this world, it’s me.”

 

   She ran a long finger up Sam’s cheek. Gabriel’s heart seemed to be beating in his throat as he watched, and he wanted desperately to tell Sam to run, to run as fast as he could, but Sam was sitting frozen in the chair like a deer in the headlights, tied to the train tracks, and Gabriel realised that he was still blood-bound. It was futile.

 

   Ruby smiled at Sam, then stabbed the blade with sudden viciousness into his chest. It slid smoothly in almost to the gleaming hilt. Sam gaped down at it for a second then looked back up at her with pleading disbelief as though he hadn’t believed that she would really do it. A tiny choked whine leaked from his lips as she twisted the blade deeper and blue-white light bloomed at the back of his throat.

 

   Gabriel wanted to shout a horrified ‘NO!’, but he forced to words back, gripping the arms of the chair tight enough to hurt as the dam released and the trickle of light was suddenly a great torrent, Sam’s eyes gleaming opalescent before he threw his head back and screamed, beams of light and Grace erupting from his eyes and mouth and leaking through his skin. Sam was lit up from inside like a disastrous Chinese lantern, illuminated, his true form blazing through the thin flesh that had held him, and he was burning up with a wail so bright and loud that Gabriel had to turn away or be blinded-

 

   Then the light cut off suddenly, and the room was abruptly dark and silent. Sam’s body slumped back into his chair and lay still, like it had in Crawford Hall, in TV land. Gabriel blinked at the spots on his vision, mouth still open. He couldn’t believe it. Sam couldn’t be dead. Not now. Surely he would feel it, with how they were connected? But he hadn’t felt anything.

 

   Ruby let go of the hilt of the blade and slid away, breathing hard. “Angels can die. We can kill Lucifer.” She proclaimed into the heavy silence, the eyes of all the gods on her.

 

   Slowly, Gabriel shifted, then stood, locking his legs so that his knees would stop shaking. He needed to get it together, needed to get himself and Cas out of this. Don’t deal with it now. Put on the mask, play the part. For Sam.

 

   “Alright, you got us, you assholes. If you wanna play ball, we’re in.” The eyes in the room all flicked to him.

 

   “Are you out of your mind?” Cas hissed up at him.

 

   “I’m out of options.” He whispered back.

 

   Gabriel turned back to the room of gods, silently watching him with dark, flighty eyes, like at any second they could turn around and wipe him out, and started walking towards the head of the table. “Now, on any other day, I’d be doing my damnedest to kill you, you filthy, murdering pieces of shit. But, hey, desperate times.”

 

   He stopped behind the chair where Sam’s body lay still and pale, and his gaze was drawn down to it helplessly. Sam’s eyes were still open, but they were blank and empty, the living colours washed out, already clouded over and murky in death. His heart clenched and a wave of bile rose in his throat, and he forced himself to look away and keep going.

 

   “So even though I’d love to do nothing better than to slit your throats and put stakes through your hearts, you dicks, I’m gonna help you. I’m gonna help you ice the devil.” Gabriel reached for the fancy crystal bottle on the side, and poured himself a large glass, the trembling in his hands sloshing some over the edges to drip onto the floor. He hoped that this stuff was extremely alcoholic. What he wanted was to get so royally bottled that he forgot this whole thing, forgot the expression in Sam’s eyes as he burnt from the inside out. But that would have to come later.

 

   “And then, when that’s done, we can all get back to ganking each other like normal. You want Lucifer? Well, you won’t find him in the yellow pages. But me and Cassie here, we can light the bat signal. Of course, we’ve got some conditions. First you let the hors d’oeuvres go, and then we talk. We either take on the devil together, or you lame-ass bitches can eat me. Maybe literally. I’ll warn you, though, I’m probably tough and chewy.”

 

.o0o.

 

   “Go on, get out of here!” Gabriel herded the last of the people out of the front doors, watching them run off towards their cars, and looked longingly towards the continental. He wished that he could just strap in and drive away, but no. He was the idiot who had decided to deal with an entire room of pagan gods, and now he was going to summon the devil. What was his life any more?

 

   Hang on a second, what was that in the back of the car? There was a hulking, dark shape that definitely hadn’t been there before.

 

   Gabriel drew his knife out of his waistband and crept forwards, then opened the door, mouth open to demand who they were and what they were doing.

 

   A hand shot out of the dark of the interior and unexpectedly grabbed his wrist, yanking him into the back seat before he could even yelp.

 

   “Get in here and shut the door, and be quiet, no one knows I’m out here,” A voice hissed from next to him. A familiar voice.

 

   Gabriel squinted in the gloom, and the darkness was too complete to make out more than a silhouette, showing a tall stature, long straight nose, broad shoulders. A pair of bright eyes gleamed at him from the other seat.

 

   “ _Sam_?”

 

   “Yeah, it’s me. I’m alive. The blade was a fake.”

 

   He knew it! He knew Sam was still alive! Gabriel wanted to laugh, to grab the angel and never let him go. He also wanted to punch him in his stupidly perfect nose.

 

   “What the fuck, Sam, I thought you were dead!”

 

   “Yeah, not so much. You’d have known if I was. Look, Gabriel, you need to go get our blood. I’m still bound by Ruby through you, we need to get out of here. Something’s coming, I can feel it.”

 

   “Yeah, that would be Lucifer. We were gonna summon him so the gods could kill him with your blade. Talking of which, you’d better give me your actual blade so we have at least a small chance of ganking him when he arrives.”

 

   Sam gawked at him. “ _What_? Are you _insane_?”

 

   “Nope. Deadly serious. We’re taking down Lucifer, and we’ll stand a better chance if you’re there. Are you in?”

 

   “No!” Gabriel looked at him without surprise. He had thought that Sam might maybe help them if they were desperate, but he also knew that Sam tended to stick with his choices. Sam leaned forwards and gripped his shoulder, the points of his fingers digging in hard. “Look, Gabriel, I know my brother. My blade might be enough to kill him, but I have never been a match for him. I meant it when I said that I have always been weaker. I can’t kill my brother. And neither can you.”

 

   “Can’t? Or won’t?”

 

   Even as he said it, Gabriel realised that he had made a mistake. Sam looked conflicted, then angry. Gabriel sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He had promised Sam that he wouldn’t have to get involved, but it was hard not to ask for help now that he was facing down the devil himself.

 

   “Sorry. It’s your choice. I’ve gotta go stop them before the father of evil arrives. See you around, Sam.” He opened the door and stepped out, hurrying back towards the hotel without looking back. He had to stop the summoning before they had the devil on their hands as well, now that they didn’t have anything to kill him with.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel stomped back into the ballroom towards where Cas was standing as stiff as a Greek statue next to Ruby and Baldur.

 

   “Bad news, the show’s over. The blade’s a fake.”

 

   Baldur frowned. “Well, what do we do now?” He demanded, turning to Ruby in irritation.

 

   The lights on the walls suddenly began to flicker, their luminescence dying in and out like they were breathing.

 

   “Shit,” Cas whispered under his breath.

 

   Gabriel’s lungs felt like they were too large for his chest, pushing his rabbit-beating heart into his throat. There was a quality of stillness and silent chill in the air, like standing outside on a winter’s night, just waiting for the blizzard, and Gabriel knew what it was.

 

   He whipped around towards Ruby with urgency. “It’s too late. He’s coming, Lucifer’s here. We’ve got to go.”

 

   “But we didn’t perform the summoning!”

 

   “Doesn’t matter. He’s found us.”

 

   From out on the corridor there were the echoes of people screaming, the crashes of furniture being destroyed, then ominous silence.

 

   Gabriel turned to Ruby, desperate. “Come on, zap us out of here, or it all ends now!”

 

   “We can’t,” Baldur said through gritted teeth. “He’s here.”

 

   The double doors swung slowly open and Lucifer walked in like he was on a Sunday stroll. It might have looked anticlimactic, but the Devil didn’t need to make an entrance. Gabriel could feel the freezing menace rolling off his mostly innocuous meatsuit, the dead skin peeling back to expose the burnt flesh below, more pronounced now than it had been in his dreams. There was an arterial spray of blood spattered up the front of his shirt in obscene red. Gabriel grabbed Cas and they slowly backed away.

 

   Lucifer looked around, taking in the gods, then caught sight of the humans and smiled in bloody glee.

 

   “Ah, Gabriel, there you are! I’ll be there in a second, just let me deal with these cockroaches first.”

 

   Baldur stalked forwards, clearly fuming. “You angels, thinking you can just destroy the world! What gives you the right?”

 

   Lucifer waited until Baldur was right in front of him, then there was a sudden movement and an abrupt crunching sound, and they watched in horror as Lucifer’s bloody fist punched through the back of Baldur’s suit jacket like a parasitic fungus erupting out of him.

 

   Lucifer smiled, propping his chin on Baldur’s slumping shoulder so that he could speak into his ear. “No one gives us the right. We take it.” Then he drew his fist out again with a wet squelch and Baldur dropped bonelessly to the floor.

 

   Lucifer looked up at them expectantly for his next opponent and Ruby stepped forwards, flames erupting along her forearms as she doused Lucifer in fire. Gabriel and Castiel threw themselves behind a table just in time for the flames to fly over their heads, the sounds of the fight still roaring in the background.

 

   Gabriel turned to Cas, concerned that some of the errant flames had got him. “You okay?”

 

   “Not really.”

 

   Gabriel whipped around. Sam had appeared crouched behind the table with them, looking grim and defeated, and Gabriel’s heart stuttered in his chest. He gaped, not knowing what to say.

 

   “Thought I’d join you for the final round. Better late than never, huh?” Sam pressed something solid and rectangular into his hand, looking at him solemnly. “Guard this with your life.”

 

   He ducked out from behind the table and Gabriel scrambled after him, emerging just in time to see Sam throw Lucifer across the room like a bull tossing an overconfident matador.

 

   Lucifer got back to his feet and snarled, stepping forwards, but Sam barred his way with his drawn blade. “No. Not this time.”

 

   “Get out of here,” Sam said sideways to Gabriel, his eyes flicking nervously as they edged around where Lucifer was standing watching them with a bemused grin, blood glistening on his forearm like a long, crimson glove.

 

   “But, Sam-”

 

   “Go!”

 

   Sam shoved Ruby at him, and the last thing that Gabriel saw before Sam pushed him towards the door were his eyes, the gold strands ringing the pupils glowing defiant and afraid.

 

   Then they were running.

 

.o0o.

 

   Sam breathed a sigh of relief as Gabriel vanished out of the door, their souls moving fast towards the car. Ruby had vanished as soon as she was out of Lucifer’s sphere of influence, but to be honest he didn’t really care about her. He would have to buy them time, but they would get away. It was worth it.

 

   He turned back to where his brother and former boss was still watching him curiously, his Grace blackened and twisted, rage roiling close under the surface. He didn’t seem as wrathful as the last time Sam had seen him, when he had chased him across the Pacific, but Sam knew that that was only a thin disguise. He would show his true nature soon.

 

   “Running around with humans now, Samael? I hope you didn’t catch anything,” Lucifer drawled, taking an easy step forwards, in his element among the blood and corpses. “Long time, no see.”

 

   “Yeah, well, that tends to happen when you get imprisoned in hell. I thought that Dad might have been overreacting at the time but you know what? He was right. You’re my brother, and I love you, but you’re just a fucking awful person. Look at you!” He gestured at Lucifer with his blade, “All this mess? You can play the victim all you want, Lucifer. But you and me? We both know that this isn’t really about the humans. You were always Dad’s favourite, then he brought the new baby home and you couldn’t handle it. Time to grow up.”

 

   Lucifer narrowed his eyes at him like he was trying to work out what his motive was. “If you’re doing this for Michael-”

 

   “Definitely not. If he was here, I’d kick his ass too.”

 

   “You disloyal-”

 

   Sam bristled, his blade coming up, ready. “Oh I’m loyal. To _them_. To people, Lucifer!”

 

   “So you’re willing to die for a pile of cockroaches. I always thought that your self-sacrificial tendencies would be the death of you.” Lucifer’s eyes might have been fixed on his, but Sam could sense him feeling around the rest of the room, scoping it out for a fight.

 

   “Dad was right. They are better than us.”

 

   Lucifer almost looked surprised, as though he had thought that deep down, Sam was still the young, impressionable angel who would believe everything his superiors told him. “They are broken, flawed abortions!”

 

   San thought of Gabriel flirting shamelessly with him at Crawford Hall, steeling himself. Then after that, all those nights shared together that had gone from awkward confusion on his part to a strange but comfortable intimacy. He hadn’t felt anything like that in millennia. He stood straighter.

 

   “Damn right they’re flawed. But a lot of them try. To do better, to forgive. They try harder than I ever saw in uncounted millennia of heaven. I’ve been sitting on the fence too long, but I’m in the game now. And I’m not on your side, or Michael’s. I’m on theirs.”

 

   Lucifer sighed, shifting his w1`eight back, twirling his blade idly. “You know, Sam, I don’t really want to do this. Don’t make me kill you, little brother. I know you think you’re doing the right thing. But I know where your heart truly lies.”

 

   Sam had almost forgotten how fast Lucifer was. He pounced, and Sam barely had time to raise his own blade to deflect the blow. Sparks flew with an ear-splitting screech as the sharp edges of the blades and their true forms clashed against one another, the lights sparking as their wings buffeted the material plane. Sam ducked under another blow and retreated, trying to find an opening, but Lucifer advanced, closing in on him.

 

   “What would Diniel say, I wonder?” Lucifer’s mask of calm was gone, ripped away, the violent insanity plain on his face. “I think he’d be disgusted with you. With what you’ve become. Getting intimate with humans? Bad move, brother!”

 

   He lunged forwards, slamming their swords together hilt-to-hilt as he sneered into Sam’s face. “You should never have got in my way! Weak,” he struck out, buffeting Sam with his larger wings, “Worthless,” Sam blindly lashed out, but Lucifer easily turned the blow away and his chest was open to attack, “Abomination!”

 

   With that last word Lucifer stabbed at his exposed chest, quick as a striking cobra, going for the kill. Sam only had time to turn sideways before the blow struck, feeling his vessel’s ribs crack like dry kindling under the force of the impact. He screamed shrill in agony, his True Voice breaking through as the icy blade plunged deep, through his vessel and just the tip if it scratched a deep gouge into his Grace. Lucifer laughed, high and insane, and pulled his blade free with a terrible sucking sensation, like he was drawing his lungs out through his chest.

 

   Sam was on the floor without warning, his face was right next to it, his Grace bubbling raw agony inside him. It suddenly occurred to him that he was going to die, this was it. The memory of hard golden caramel eyes flashed defiantly in front of him, and he wished that he could still make it up to Gabriel for the mystery spot. What he wouldn’t have given to see his face one last time-

 

   The world lurched sideways into another bolt of startling pain, then there was movement and a fuzzy noise crackling in his ears, and grainy light, and he felt himself starting to drift away…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *drops cliffhanger with an evil smile, waits hopefully for the Comments of Rage*


	18. A Blow to the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The good news; new chapter, yay!! I love cliffhangers.  
> The bad news; blood, gore and all that fun stuff. Hold onto your hats.
> 
>  
> 
> .

   Gabriel clutched the DVD as they roared out of the parking lot on a spin of tires and gravel, the silence tense underneath the pummelling of the rain on the roof. Cas’ hands gripped the steering wheel white-knuckled as they sped through the storm that was still raging, driving away from the hotel behind them as fast as possible, but Gabriel’s thoughts were still spinning in futile circles.

 

   He should have stayed. Yes, Gabriel knew that there was really nothing he could have done against something as strong as Lucifer, but he could have tried. There must have been something that he could have done to help. They had just wandered straight into that trap like lemmings, and now Sam was going to have to pay the price for their stupidity, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He fidgeted in his seat, restless. Sam was back there, probably in mortal peril, and Gabriel was useless.

 

   They hadn’t even been driving for five minutes but the guilt had started to eat through his expression and Cas must have noticed, because he spoke up. “There was nothing you could have done, Gabriel. We are no match for Lucifer, all that would have happened is that we would have died.”

 

   “Yeah?” Gabriel snapped. “Well, now Sam’s going to take a flying leap off this mortal coil instead. One of the most powerful allies we’ve got, and he’s as good as gone.” His voice came out a little choked by the end and he swallowed around the lump in his throat. Sam wasn’t dead yet, he knew that much, Sam had told him he’d be able to feel it. But it was just a matter of time.

 

   Cas cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m sorry, Gabriel. I know you were rather fond-”

 

   Gabriel cut him off. “Stop Cas. Just don’t.” He definitely wasn’t thinking about that tonight, not without the help of Jonnie Walker.

 

   Suddenly, an aching stab bloomed in his chest and he gasped, his hand flying to his jacket, just under his heart. An overwhelming flood of panic and pain laced through with desperate yearning tore through him, and he barely registered Cas throwing him a concerned glance.

 

   “Gabriel, are you-”

 

    Cas was interrupted by a concussive **_BANG_** from the back seat of the car.

 

   They both flinched and ducked instinctively, Gabriel yelling as the continental swerved into the other lane, skidding on the wet tarmac. Cas swore loudly as he fought to control the car which was aquaplaning across the flooded road.

 

   Nerves raw, still battling back the foreign sensations inside of him, Gabriel whipped his gun from his waistband and pointed it into the dark behind them.

 

   “Whatever the hell you are, you have officially picked the wrong night, buster,” he snarled. There was a low groan from the dark shape as the car veered.

 

   “What the hell, Gabriel? What’s going on?” Cas shouted at him, squinting into the mirror, but Gabriel was trying to aim at the strange looking lump that had appeared.

 

   Lightning struck suddenly outside, and the backseat was illuminated for a second by the flash of white light. To Gabriel’s shock, he saw Sam sprawled over the back seat, his long limbs cramped and folded even in the spacious car, gasping up at Gabriel blearily with one hand clamped to the left side of his chest.

 

   First, Gabriel felt shock and a surge of happiness. Sam had made it out of there! He had no idea how he had done it, but he was alive, they had all made it!

 

   But wait, the pain he was feeling must be from Sam, right? Something was wrong.

 

   Then he took in the pained way that Sam was breathing in laboured little pants, the glassiness of his eyes, the dark liquid staining his shirt black, and the bottom dropped out of his stomach. Oh shit, that didn’t look good.

 

   Before he had thought about it he was scrambling over the back of the seats. “Keep going, Cas, keep driving!”

 

   “Gabriel, tell me what’s going on!”

 

   “It’s Sam, he’s injured! Drive faster, we need a hospital!” Gabriel was half-knelt in the foot well, close enough now to hear Sam’s laboured breathing and see the feint glow of Grace seeping from the wound. Sam’s eyes had closed again, but they flew open with an agonised gurgling moan when Gabriel pressed against the place where the blood glistened freshest. He flailed, which Gabriel had expected, but even while dying Sam was still supernaturally strong. His fingers clawed holes into the leather where he was grasping at the seats and he nearly threw Gabriel off him. The ache in Gabriel’s chest twinged in sympathy, and a fresh wave of screaming panic threatened to blot out his thoughts.

 

   “Easy, Sam, it’s me!” He tried to keep his hand clamped over the wound until Sam calmed, panting wetly. “We’re getting you out of here, you’re going to be fine.”

 

   That was a blatant lie. Gabriel pushed down the panic rising in his own throat; he knew that the frothing blood leaking from under his fingers meant a punctured lung, and there was so much blood puddling on the leather seats and soaked into Sam’s clothes that it was a medical miracle he was conscious right now. Gabriel didn’t have a clue about the implications of the glowing Grace seeping out from between his fingers either but he was willing to bet that it wasn’t good. Maybe that was why he wasn’t healing.

 

   No, no, no, his eyes were slipping closed, that wasn’t good. “Stay with me, Sam. We’re going to a hospital, they’ll fix you up, then you can go back to bouncing me off giant red balls and giving me genital herpes. Just like old times, yeah?”

 

   Sam’s eyes opened wide and his arms trembled as he tried to prop himself to sit up. Gabriel fumbled, surprised by the sudden motion. “No! No hospitals.” Sam rasped through a mouth full of blood.

 

   “Kiddo, you’ve got a punctured lung and fuck knows what else. We can’t fix this with whiskey and dental floss. Gotta get the professionals in on this.” Gabriel tried urgently to push him back down while keeping pressure on the wound, which had Sam scrunching up his face in an aborted scream.

 

   “No,” Sam was glaring at him weakly, blood running down his chin. “I _can’t_. My Grace…” He broke into a terrible hacking wet cough, chest spasming as he tried to calm himself.

 

   Gabriel frowned. That was a good point. The flow of the glowing stuff was slowing to a trickle, which he still wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not, but still it wouldn’t exactly take a brain surgeon to figure out that there was something fishy going on with the enormous guy with the glowing wound. And the last thing they needed was someone putting out a prayer and the god squad turning up on top of everything else, what with Sam so weak. They probably still had Sam’s ‘wanted, dead or alive’ posters up in heaven.

 

   “All right, no hospitals.” He conceded.

 

   “Gabriel?” Cas called to him from the front.

 

   “Head to Josh’s place, we can hole up there.” Gabriel instructed, looking around desperately for something to bind the wound with. He saw Cas nod in the mirror as the car accelerated. Gabriel shrugged out of his jacket and tried futilely to ignore the whimpers as he pressed it to Sam’s blood-sodden side.

 

   Sam opened his mouth, tried to speak again, but whatever reserve of strength he’d found was dwindling rapidly. “I couldn’t… tried…” his breath bubbled and sputtered as he looked up at Gabriel with tired desperation, and what was left of Gabriel’s heart broke. He had asked Sam to kill his brother. This was all his fault.

 

   He gently pushed Sam back against the seat with a hand to his chest. “Shh, you saved us. Stay still, we’re going to get help. You’re gonna be fine.”

 

   Sam looked at him with one eye in bleary relief, then he shifted slightly and his body locked up in agony. He gave a terrible gurgling groan as his eyes rolled up into his head, then went completely limp. Gabriel almost panicked but then realised that he could still feel Sam’s ragged breathing through the hand that was pressed against his ribcage. Just to make sure, he pressed his fingers to Sam’s long neck and there it was, a pulse, weak and thready but definitely there. Gabriel sighed quietly in relief. With the amount of pain he must be in, he was almost glad that Sam wasn’t conscious. Gently, with the hand that wasn’t trying to stem the flow of blood and Grace, he reached up and brushed Sam’s long hair back from where it was hanging over his face. Jesus, hadn’t the kid cut it since the first time they had seen him?

 

   Gabriel looked up to see Cas watching him in the mirror with a strange expression.

 

   “What?” he snapped.

 

   Cas turned back to the road. “Nothing.”

 

.o0o.

 

   They pulled up to Josh’s house just as the sun was cresting over the horizon in a spill of pinks and oranges. Sam was still out, his breathing rattling shallowly against Gabriel’s arm, but he must still have had Grace to keep him alive because he would definitely have died if he had been human by this point. His blood had stiffened in both their clothes and was coating most of the back seat.

 

    Gabriel had spent the entire journey in a state of prolonged anxiety, his heart feeling like one giant bruise in his chest, terrified that at any moment the faltering pulse under his fingers would stop altogether, but Sam clung to life with the same stubbornness that Gabriel remembered from the Mystery Spot. Gabriel couldn’t crouch in the foot well for the whole journey, so with a little shuffling they had managed to get Gabriel on the seat smushed against the window with Sam’s head in his lap. Whatever, it was easier to keep an eye on him like that anyway.

 

   Cas jumped out as soon as the car rumbled to a stop and met Josh on the porch, who was frowning at the car with an expression like someone had eaten all the chocolate cereal and left the bran flakes. Cas wasn’t really looking much better, he noted as Cas snapped some words to him as they hurried back towards the car.

 

   Josh opened the door on his side and sighed deeply, like he wasn’t mad, he was disappointed. “What the hell you gotten into this time, boy?”

 

   “Just help me get him out, would you? Come on guys, urgency, he’s been stabbed! Also, my leg’s been asleep for so long it’s gonna go black and drop off.”

 

   With a lot of effort, and a good deal of cursing from Joshua, they managed to extract Sam’s enormous bulk from the car. “Gently, gently!” Gabriel scolded the others as they set him down on the ground. Cas looked into the car and scowled slightly at the sight of all that crusted blood on his precious cream upholstery, but caught the look in Gabriel’s eye and wisely didn’t mention it.

 

   Joshua looked at them. “Where were you thinking of putting him?”

 

   Gabriel ran a tired hand through his hair, looking down at Sam’s prone form. “I was thinking of the panic room. Seemed like the best place. I don’t think we got followed, but…” he trailed off into silence. Nobody wanted to be stalked by an enraged Lucifer, or be found by any of the rest of his dickish family. “Come on, no time to get a stretcher, we need to get him out of sight behind some wards before the unwelcome committee turns up. He’s been leaking Grace like a sieve and I bet they can trace it.”

 

   “Yes, let’s get him down there so we can stitch him up.” Cas grabbed the feet this time and Gabriel seized Sam under his arms, his long limbs trailing awkwardly as he was hoisted into the air. Gabriel huffed out a breath and staggered a little as he started walking backwards towards the house. What did the kid eat? Rocks? Lead weights?

 

   “I’ll go get the supplies and set the kettle running,” Joshua muttered, which was probably code for ‘it is way too early for people to appear on my doorstep and expect me to help carry unconscious bodies’. At least he stuck around long enough to open all the doors for them.

 

   Around the time they got to the stairs Sam began to wake up, his limbs stirring. “No, not yet,” Gabriel muttered, walking faster. They just managed to get through the doorway when Sam sucked in a loud, rattling breath and started to flail desperately, his groans quickly winding up to agonised wailing as the twisting only increased the pressure on his wounds. They wrestled him onto the cot but he was struggling so hard that Gabriel had to climb up and straddle him to hold him down. It was more worrying that Sam was so weak that Gabriel could actually pin him. The throbbing in Gabriel’s heart intensified.

 

   “Sam! Cut it out! You’re gonna hurt yourself!” He shouted. Sam calmed a little, his struggling slowing, and his eyelids blinked slowly open.

 

   “G’br’l?” Sam groaned, trying to sit up, then shuddered and spat out a thick clot of blood.

 

   “Yeah, it’s me, kid.” Gabriel held him down as Joshua shuffled in, carrying a large bowl of water and a pile of towels. “Do you think you can heal yourself?”

 

   Sam looked down, taking in the terrible wound in his side for the first time. “Gahh…” he looked away, seeming dazed.

 

   “Yeah, okay. I’m gonna take that as a no.” Gabriel climbed down from the bed and fetched one of the cloths and wetted it, his insides twisting with worry. If Sam couldn’t save himself, then there might not be much that they could do for him.

 

   Cas frowned. “Is he okay?”

 

   Gabriel shook his head and tried to concentrate on the situation. “I got no idea, Cas. He seems pretty out of it, looks kind of shocky. Come on, let’s get this over with. Josh, do you have your painkillers?”

 

   Joshua nodded, already filling a syringe with the prescription-strength opiates that he had probably filched from a hospital, carefully flicking it to remove the bubbles. He handed it over, looking at Sam dubiously.

 

   “Do you think this is even going to affect him? Remember how much alcohol Dean had to drink to get pissed?”

 

   “Worth a shot. It might affect him more now he’s got less Grace.” Gabriel hurriedly felt the inside in Sam’s elbow, his fingers trembling slightly, then pressed the needle into the vein and depressed the plunger. Sam didn’t even flinch as the needle pulled back out, but he didn’t look particularly drugged either, still breathing pained and shallow, wincing with every drag in.

 

   They waited for a few minutes, but there was no change. Gabriel was pacing impatiently, unable to sit still. They couldn’t wait any longer. Sam was still bleeding out over there.

 

   With a glance at the others, he sat down on the edge of the bed and braced himself. “Alright, Sammy, gonna get you cleaned up, okay?” Sam didn’t show any signs of having heard him, and the lack of response was eerie. Gabriel swallowed and got on with it.

 

   Sam was unresisting as Gabriel pushed his arm over his head so that he could get at the wound. He sliced away the side of the shirt that Sam had been wearing with his pocket knife, using the warm water to slowly peel away the fabric stuck to Sam’s skin by the drying blood, and sucked in a shocked breath.

 

   “Holy mother of God,” Joshua muttered behind him.

 

   Sam should have been dead, was the first thing Gabriel thought. His Grace had to be keeping him alive, because any human wouldn’t have lasted two minutes. Gabriel had been expecting a long slash judging by the amount of blood all over everything, but this was a thousand times worse. From what he could see through the blood, Sam’s lung hadn’t just collapsed; the entire side of his ribcage had caved in under a terrible blow around the deep stab wound. The flesh around the laceration was bubbled and blistered, open and raw, like the leaking Grace was dissolving Sam from the inside out. Gabriel could see pieces of rib, glistening stark white against all that red, and fresh scarlet flood laced with opalescent light still oozed out and frothed pink with every laboured rise and fall of his chest. Gabriel looked in horror at Sam’s grey face so that he could stop looking at the wreckage of his side. No wonder he was dazed, every breath must have been agony.

 

   “I think we might need some more bandages.” Cas said weakly.

 

   “How the fuck are you alive?” Gabriel demanded dumbly. Sam’s head lolled towards him and he caught clumsily at his wrist.

 

   “Stop… Grace…” he slurred.

 

   “Stop the Grace leaking? How?” Cas muttered to Gabriel, staring at the glittering light leaking from the open wounds, “Do we stitch it up? Seal it? Maybe he can stop the internal bleeding if we stop his Grace from leaking everywhere.”

 

   “Not a clue. Try it.” Gabriel was getting desperate, he could see Sam’s life slipping away through his fingers. “Hey Cas, you can do the stitches. Yours are always better than mine.” In reality, Gabriel’s hands were now trembling badly enough that he was afraid that he might make the injuries worse. His hands hadn’t shaken like this since Cas had been killed by hellhounds. Cas bit his lip, nodding, and ran off to get his stitching kit.

 

   Gabriel took a deep breath and looked back at the wound, swallowing thickly, then wetted a wash cloth and tried to wipe away the worst of the excess blood as gently as he could. Even so he heard Sam’s breathing speed up, pained and panicky. “Easy,” he muttered, holding Sam’s arm out of the way as he finished cleaning the caked-on crust from Sam’s skin. Sam choked out a tiny half-sob.

 

   Cas came back in a controlled frenzy of activity, and Gabriel was more than relieved to leave him to tending to the wound. He sat above him by Sam’s head and grabbed hold of his hands to pin them into the cushions. Gabriel felt the bed shift and presumed that Josh was probably pinning his legs.

 

   “I’m sorry, Sammy, but this is gonna hurt like a son of a bitch,” he told him as Sam looked up at him, his pupils weaved in and out of focus drunkenly, obviously still not hearing what he was saying. His eyes were dull and grey in the lifeless light from the bare bulb above them.

 

   Gabriel could tell when Cas began to put the stitches in because Sam gave a breathless whimper and mindlessly squirmed to get away, but Gabriel held him still and soon he settled down, only giving the occasional wince.

 

   Then, suddenly, Cas must have hit a sensitive part because Sam’s back arched up off the bed and a strangled scream worked its way up his throat, the filaments in his eyes lighting up, glowing golden-white from within. The limp hands that Gabriel had been holding were suddenly holding his bruisingly, painfully tight and he winced.

 

   “Almost done,” Cas said, sounding strained as Sam screamed again, and then went lax and lay there, panting and trembling, his eyes fading back to grey. Gabriel held him down, nausea curling his stomach as he tried to calm him with gentle shushing noises. Another trickle of blood dribbled from the corner of Sam’s slack mouth.

 

   “There.” Cas sat back and wiped the scarlet off his hands. “I think that sort of worked. Well, at least he’s not leaking Grace any more.”

 

   It was true, the pearly white light was no longer leaking out, but that didn’t stop Sam’s side from looking like someone had tenderized him with a sledgehammer. Sam looked like he was out of it again, and Gabriel was honestly relieved.

 

   “Quick, let’s wrap this up while he’s out. He won’t want to be conscious for this.”

 

   As gently as they could they wrapped Sam’s torso in clean white bandages, red stains quickly beginning to show through. Thankfully, Sam showed no signs of stirring through the ordeal, either because the drugs were finally kicking in or because he was just that deep in unconsciousness. Castiel hadn’t been able to do anything about the ribs, but Gabriel figured that if the Grace still in Sam had kept him alive so far, then they would just have to hope that it would continue to do so now.

 

   Once they were done, Cas glanced at Gabriel as they rinsed the worst of the blood off their hands, and his eyes narrowed in concern at whatever he saw there.

 

   “You should take a shower and get some sleep.”

 

   Gabriel glanced down at himself and noticed vaguely that whatever colour his shirt had been when he put it on the day before yesterday, it was now the dark red of dried blood. Cas was right, maybe he did need a shower. Later.

 

   “You’re one to talk.” He waved Cas to the door. “Go on, you need one more than me. I had to stand right next to your armpits while we wrapped his chest and take it from me, the biggest health hazard around here is you. Plus you drove all the way here. I’ll watch him, make sure he doesn’t get any worse.”

 

   Cas looked as though he would have liked to argue, but was too tired. He loped out of the door and Gabriel dragged a chair over next to the cot, wincing as he closed his bruised fingers around the back rest. Now that he was finally starting to relax, he felt the injuries of the day properly for the first time. There were bruises across his ribs and arms from being manhandled by the gods, a small burn on his upper arm where Ruby had gone flamethrower, and bizarrely after all the other injuries the papercut where Mercury had drawn their blood for the binding still stung like a son of a bitch. His heart ached like a torn muscle, and Gabriel rubbed at it absentmindedly through his shirt. The spot at the back of his mind where Sam’s thoughts had slipped through was eerily silent.

 

   He collapsed into the chair with a sigh and leaned over the bed on his elbows. Sam lay still and silent, but his hand was too warm and sticky with sweat where he picked it up.

 

   “You’re not allowed to die on me now,” Gabriel found himself murmuring, “I feel like I’ve put a lot of effort into this friendship, you don’t just get to back out, not when we just found out you’re one of the good guys. I mean, if you’d told me a few months ago they I’d be buddy-buddy with the damn trickster I’d have told you to get your head checked for loose screws, but…”

 

   Gabriel hesitated, turning Sam’s hand over in his grip. The long bones of his wrist and fingers shifted as they moved, tendons and muscle and skin all holding together, at once strong and terribly fragile. “I get it now. What you were trying to do at the mystery spot. Yeah, it was a crappy way of going about it, but I don’t think I’d have come up with anything better. You were trying to help us, even back then, and I think I might even have forgiven you by now. Which I don’t do for many people, so feel special. And I’m sorry we got you caught up in our shit. You didn’t deserve that.” He fell back into silence for a second, then grinned. “That telepathic bond, though? You should have told me sooner while you were watching all my dirty fantasies. Just think of all the fun we could have been having, kiddo.”

 

   “Hell yeah we could.”

 

   Sam’s voice was paper thin, barely a whisper, but Gabriel nearly jumped out of his skin, snatching his hand away. Sam was watching him hazily through the lashes of one cracked eye.

 

   “Hey, were you listening in? You’re meant to be asleep,” Gabriel accused. A teasing smile tugging up the corner of Sam’s mouth, and Gabriel felt himself flush and turned to hide it, but he had a feeling that Sam had seen it anyway.

 

   “Don’ worry,” Sam slurred out, his voice lazy with drugs. “I really like you too. Was gonna tell you soon.” Gabriel held his breath, waiting for more words to come and the other boot to drop, but there was nothing. After a moment, a soft snore filled the air and Gabriel turned incredulously to find Sam with his eyes closed, deeply asleep. It looked like the drugs had finally kicked in.

 

   “Sam you rude bastard,” Gabriel muttered, but he couldn’t help the grin which was slowly spreading across his face. He propped his elbows on the side of the bed and rested his chin on his hands. He would keep an eye on Sam until Cas woke up, and the worry that he wouldn’t make it was still eating at him. Gabriel had to stay awake. Sam wouldn’t mind his hair in braids, would he?

 

.o0o.

 

   There was a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. Gabriel stirred, then bolted upright.

 

   “Sam! Is Sam okay?”

 

   Cas, who had woken him, carefully inspected Sam’s sleeping face, then turned back to him. “Yes, Sam’s alright. He has a fever, but Josh has been keeping an eye on him. You’ve only been asleep for two hours.”

 

   Gabriel frowned. Fever didn’t seem like very ‘alright’ to him. At some point someone had draped a wet towel over Sam’s forehead. Lifting it, Gabriel pressed one hand lightly against Sam’s skin, and snatched it back when he felt the dry heat coming off him. Guilt was sour on the back of Gabriel’s tongue. He had meant to be looking after Sam, and what had he done? Fallen asleep. Sam had a fever, he could have died in the night, right in front of him and he would never have known.

 

   Cas, as usual, seemed annoyingly perceptive now that Gabriel didn’t want him to be. “It’s not your fault, Gabriel. You were exhausted, and the fever’s a normal reaction to the massive damage that his body sustained, it would have happened anyway. The loss of some of his Grace probably hasn’t helped. We don’t really know what’s happening to him, there isn’t exactly any lore for this.”

 

   “Not helping, Cas,” Gabriel muttered, rubbing the crusts out of his eyes. Castiel sighed and went to get some more towels.

 

   Together they peeled off the bandages around Sam’s chest to check the wound. Gabriel, although he’d never been a squeamish person (quite the opposite really) found that he couldn’t look at the damage to Sam’s body without feeling ill.

 

   “Hmm,” Cas leant in to peer closely at the swollen, reddened skin around the wound, where bits of bone still stuck out of the surrounding flesh. Gabriel swallowed and looked quickly away. “I’d say that there’s very little swelling for how severe it is, and the bleeding’s stopped. I have no idea how he’s surviving for so long with such a badly punctured lung, but he’s an angel so I suppose it probably has something to do with that. If he were human he would have been dead almost straight away, and apart from the fever he’s doing pretty well. He doesn’t seem to be actually healing, though.”

 

   “So doc, what’s the prognosis?” Gabriel tried to hide his fear, but his fingers kept drumming on the edge of the bed.

 

   Cas sighed and reached for the fresh bandages. “I’d say he could go either way, and that it comes down to his Grace, because that’s obviously what’s keeping him alive. Either he lost too much Grace, then this fever will get worse and he dies, or enough Grace is left that he recharges and he gets better.” Cas was silent for a moment. “I wish Dean was still here, he might know.” He said quietly.

 

.o0o.

 

   Sam’s fever didn’t get any better over the next two and a half days. He was still alive but only just, slipping in and out of delirious consciousness without ever really waking up. Gabriel sat by his side in a constant state of worried exhaustion, snatching quick naps between being woken by the gargling sound of Sam’s tortured breathing. Castiel and Josh had tried a few hundred times to convince him to take a rest, but he just scowled at them and checked on Sam’s wounds again.

 

   On the third night, the fever spiked to 110 degrees, hotter than humans could withstand. There were five terrible hours where Castiel and Josh were convinced that Sam wasn’t going to make it, but Gabriel shot them down. The pain in his heart radiated out into his chest and lungs, his whole torso aching like one giant bruise. Sam was sweating through the endless cold towels that Gabriel put on his forehead but nothing seemed to bring his temperature down, and they even tried an ice bath as one last effort. It didn’t work.

 

   Once they got him back into the cot in the panic room and Cas and Josh had left quietly, Gabriel felt Sam’s forehead, then quickly took it off when the scorching dry heat felt like it might burn his palm. He gulped and took hold of Sam’s hand instead, although that wasn’t much better. Through his fingers he could feel as Sam’s body lay deathly still, no longer even shivering, his eyes sunken deep in their sockets. Sam’s pulse slowed, and Gabriel clutched his hand tighter.

 

   “You’re not allowed to die,” he told Sam, but it came out choked. His eyes burnt. He’d tried so hard, but he couldn’t do anything, he was helpless. It was so much worse, in a way, than all the other deaths he had witnessed; in their line of work, death tended to be a quick thing, clawed open or stabbed or blown up, with not much time for regrets. Not this terrible, drawn-out wasting away. Sam was slipping, the life running out of him like water trickling through his fingers, and there was nothing they could do about it.

 

   He didn’t bother going to get Cas or Josh, there would be no point anyway. He raised Sam’s limp hand and gently pressed a kiss to his knuckles, then took a shaking breath and held Sam’s hand to his own chest, just under his aching heart. Sam’s breathing was so slow that Gabriel thought he was gone just before every breath.

 

   “Sam, if you can hear this, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, we dragged you into this and now…” He trailed off, chest hitching with choked breaths, vision blurring. “I’m sorry,” He whispered.

 

   He hadn’t realised. He hadn’t noticed how attached he was becoming to the angel until it was too late, but he knew it now. Sam had wormed his way into Gabriel’s heart while he was looking the other way, and now he would never even get to tell him that he loved hi-

 

   Gabriel had a fucking terrible sense of timing for epiphanies.

 

   The fingers curled against his chest twitched.

 

   Gabriel looked down, surprised, then back up to Sam’s face, but his eyes were still closed, skin still pale and unmoving. He was still deeply unconscious, on the point of death. The fingers twitched again.

 

   Gabriel watched, transfixed, as Sam’s long fingers slowly uncurled, flattening themselves against his chest, like a flower opening to the sun. Then the hand began to push, weakly at first but then more strongly.

 

   Then there was a sudden twist, a tug deep in his own chest where the aching pain was coming from, and Gabriel gasped as the tips of Sam’s fingers seemed to go right _through_ his clothing, through the flesh and bones underneath. Sam gasped too, a great stuttering inhale, his back arching off the cot, and Gabriel heard the grisly crackle as the ends of his broken ribs ground together. Sam’s fingers suddenly jammed further in, instinctively grasping at him, clutching, and Gabriel would have screamed if there was any air left in his lungs at the sudden pain. It was as though a star had ignited in his chest. The Grace felt the same as it had the last time, burning agony through his insides, but this time instead of pouring energy _in_ it was sucking _out_. Light spilled from Gabriel’s chest, travelling up Sam’s arm like a tidal bore, glowing through the terrible gap in his side and when his eyes snapped open, it was like looking into the sun. Sam’s hand was still inside him, Grace wrapped around his soul, and through the pain Gabriel could feel his desperation.

 

_Take it_ , Gabriel shouted in his mind, _go on, take it all!_

   Sam’s gratitude swamped him and he floundered, swept away on a tide of pain, ebbing and flowing around him. It could have been minutes or hours before it began to fade, his sense of time stretching out like toffee.

 

   “Gabriel? Gabriel!”

 

   His head was full of cotton wool, and his chest still ached like his lungs were bruised. He stirred, frowning.

 

   “Gabriel? Oh, thank God.”

 

   Gabriel forced his eyes back open, and there was Sam, eyes open and worried, the hand closed in the front of his shirt still shaking violently. As soon as he saw that Gabriel was awake he flopped back onto the mattress, too exhausted still to keep himself upright.

 

   “Oh God, Gabriel, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even-”

 

   “Sam,” Gabriel interrupted, his voice slurring drunkenly. “Y’r awake! Y’r okay!” He lurched forwards and lay his trembling hand on Sam’s forehead, grinning in disbelief. Gone! The fever was gone! They had done it! He laughed hysterically, and Sam frowned at him with tired concern.

 

   “Thank God, you’re gonna be okay. I’ll just… sit down, for a bit…” Gabriel collapsed back into the chair, his giddy relief undermined by bone-deep exhaustion. Through the haze he saw Sam’s head turn towards him on the pillow, his eyes drooping closed as well. A firm warmth engulfed his hand where it lay limp on the bed and Gabriel grinned as Sam twined their fingers together. He slipped quickly into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 

.o0o.

 

   Gabriel woke again to Cas shaking his shoulder violently. He groaned, unsticking his eyelids and peering up into Cas’ smiling face, an expression that would have been beaming with happiness on anyone else. Every inch of his body ached now and his limbs felt weak and rubbery, as though someone had extracted his bones in the night and replaced them with balloons.

 

   “Gabriel, the fever’s gone! Sam’s going to live!”

 

   “Awesome,” He croaked. Damn, his head hurt. He tried to sit up but he fell back, winded. His chest felt like someone had taken a pile driver to it. He remembered Sam sticking his fingers into his soul and winced.

 

   “It’s a miracle,” Cas said, still peering at Sam’s slack face. “We didn’t think he was going to pull through.”

 

   “Cas, tact, remember?” Gabriel groaned.

 

   Cas seemed to accept that Sam was sleeping peacefully and turned to Gabriel, looking him over with an assessing eye. “You need to get some rest. Proper rest, not just napping in chairs. And go and take a shower, Gabriel. You reek like a slaughterhouse.”

 

   Through his exhaustion, Gabriel didn’t even have the energy to argue. He should have told Cas about the whole soul touching thing, but that would have required more brain power than he had at the moment. Sam was going to be alright, and with deep relief Gabriel trudged up to the main house, going straight to the bathroom and stripping off his clothes. He had been wearing them for what, four days? Five? Ever since the morning before they had arrived at the Elysian Fields hotel, anyway. He had to peel the shirt and trousers off his skin where they had been stuck on by Sam’s dried blood, wincing a little as it tugged the hairs. The fabric was stiff and dark, and he dropped it in a pile and climbed straight into the shower.

 

   The water ran red-brown, then pink. There was more blood than he had thought, in more places than he had imagined possible. It was under his fingernails and toenails, in his hair, ingrained into the skin if his palms. He shivered and scrubbed harder, fighting to keep his eyes open.

 

   It was a mark of how tired he was that he didn’t notice the handprint at first. He blinked down through the falling water at his chest and there it was, a perfect match to Sam’s long fingers emblazoned across his sternum in agitated red skin. It stung slightly under the hot water, and when he pressed it lightly with a finger he felt a tingle run through the bones underneath his flesh. He shuddered.

 

   He was too tired for this shit. Repress now, deal with later, that was his motto.

 

   Finally, he gave up on removing the last crusts of blood when the water ran cold. Shivering, he towelled off and dressed again, picking up the dirty clothes at arm’s length. He might have to burn those jeans, which was a shame, they’d been his favourites. He dropped the clothes into a plastic bag and made to go back down towards the basement, but just as he reached the door Cas appeared there with a scowl to head him off.

 

   “Don’t even think about it, he’s fast asleep and the fever’s still down. You need rest too, Gabriel. You’re not a machine.” Cas grabbed him by the shoulder and steered him towards the spare room.

 

   Gabriel grumbled slightly, but he didn’t even have the energy to undress, and before he was even properly under the covers he had dropped into a deep, comatose sleep.

 

.o0o.

 

      Gabriel slept for fourteen hours straight.

 

      By the time he staggered down the stairs Joshua was sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by open lore books, deep bags under his eyes and a mug of coffee in his hand. Without even looking up from the ancient texts he grunted, “Your angel’s awake.”

 

   Gabriel stopped short, then hurried towards the stairs with a grin, elated.

 

   “And come back up here after you’ve checked on your boyfriend, there’s still an apocalypse going on you know!” Joshua called after him, but he was already gone.

 

   Gabriel thundered down the stairs to the panic room, then gently eased the thick door open. Sure enough, Sam was awake on the cot, turning to offer him a wan smile as he came in. He still looked exhausted, but Gabriel would take tired over unconscious and feverish any day.

 

   “They said you were asleep,” Sam croaked at him as he walked over to the chair by the bed.

 

   “Yeah, well, I was. That tends to happen when _somebody_ won’t get better for three days. And then…” Gabriel trailed off, looking away from Sam awkwardly. He almost didn’t know how to ask what had happened; he had no frame of reference for asking about the experience of Sam reaching inside him, it had felt so utterly alien that it made him shiver even at the memory.

 

   Sam must have seen his indecisiveness and mistaken it for something else, because he took a deep breath then winced and looked down at his own hands, the fingers looking long and skeletal, too-thin against the bedding.

 

   “Look, I’m so sorry about what happened. I never meant to reach for your soul like that. It was instinct, but that doesn’t excuse it.”

 

   “That _was_ you touching my soul, then?”

 

   Sam looked up at him then looked away, guilt plastered across his forehead. “Yes, and I did it without asking permission. It is one of the worst crimes, almost as bad as involuntary possession, and I wouldn’t have done that to you if I-”

 

   “Woah, there,” Gabriel interrupted him. “Before we get stuck in with the pity fest, I don’t have a problem with you touching my soul.”

 

   Sam looked up, incredulous. “You don’t?”

 

   Gabriel shrugged. “Well it was about as fun as sitting on a cactus, but you were dying, Sam. You want to get your fingers up in me, that’s fine. I’d do soul fisting again to keep you alive. And I don’t say that to all the girls.” He smirked.

 

   Sam snorted weakly, his laughter breaking off into a deep spasming cough. Gabriel leaned forwards, concerned, but Sam waved him off. After a few minutes he settled down, still looking wan.

 

   “So, what exactly is it you were doing to me?” Gabriel asked.

 

   “Human souls are energy,” Sam explained tiredly, still breathing shallowly. “Angels can skim some of that energy off. Your soul is particularly bright- anyone else would have been on their backs for days after I fed on their soul like that. Plus we were already connected, so that made it a little easier. I managed to recharge the piece of Grace left in me so I can keep my vessel stable while I regather my Grace. Larger Graces attract more energy so can recharge more quickly, so thankfully I won’t have to do it again. I might have, um… accidentally absorbed a little bit of your soul, too. Like you have some of my Grace from the blood exchange.” He looked a little sheepish.

 

   Gabriel nodded. “That probably explains the mark then.”

 

   Sam frowned at him in confusion, so Gabriel pulled the neck of his shirt down far enough that the fingers of the handprint were visible over the fabric. Sam’s eyes widened comically in surprise.

 

   “Oh. That’s… unexpected.”

 

   “Is it bad?”

 

   “No, no. It’s probably just a manifestation.”

 

   Gabriel narrowed his eyes at him. The way Sam was ogling his chest suggested that it was definitely not just a manifestation, but before he could push him on it Sam quickly changed the subject.

 

   “You were right about the stitches, by the way. You saved my life. They managed to stop me from losing the last of my Grace, otherwise I would have been screwed. It just needs time to heal and recharge, which unfortunately we don’t have. I need to help you with the apocalypse. Have you watched the video?”

 

   Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah,” He growled, “I saw your suicide note. Don’t even think of trying to pull that one again. You’re worth way too much to m- the team.”

 

   Sam’s face softened a little. “I remember what you said to me, right before I blacked out. I can’t say that I would have been as forgiving if you had done the things to me that I’ve done to you. I wanted to say sorry, officially.”

 

   Gabriel felt his face heating. “A-apology accepted,” he muttered awkwardly.

 

   “Also I definitely owe you my life now.”

 

   “Well, maybe you can pay me back in favours when you’re better,” It came out of his mouth before he had even thought about the connotations, and he quickly tried to blow it off with an eyebrow waggle, but Sam just smiled at him, a slow grin that spread across his face like a sunrise, and Gabriel couldn’t help smiling back.

 

   “I can think of a few already,” Sam actually winked at him, his expression the same as when Gabriel had thought he was just a flirty janitor at Crawford Hall, and was he really-?

 

   To his disappointment, Cas chose that moment to bustle in loudly, as usual seeming completely unaware that he might be interrupting something.

 

   “Good morning Gabriel, Sam, it is good to see you both awake.”

 

   Sam smiled at him, amused by Gabriel’s scowl. “It’s nice to be awake, Cas.”

 

    Gabriel tuned Cas out a little as he started grilling Sam on angel physiology, concentrating instead on starting to clean up the first aid kit still scattered around the room.

 

   “I survived by redirecting my vessel’s blood flow away from my left lung,” he heard Sam explain. “Then I used my Grace to put my body into stasis so that I didn’t need as much oxygen. That might have contributed to the fever, actually. I’m only awake now because now that I’ve recharged a little more I’m not as reliant on my vessel, but it’ll be at least a few more days until I have enough energy to actually start repairing the damage.” He glanced sideways at Gabriel, who understood the look and nodded minutely. No need to tell Cas about the whole soul touching incident. It was all over anyway, and it felt… too personal for some reason.

 

   Cas stared at Sam, unblinking. “Fascinating.”

 

   Gabriel rolled his eyes behind his back with a fond smile. The nerd.

 

   “Unfortunately,” Sam grimaced, “The more Grace I have, the less those painkillers you’ve been giving me will be effective, so I expect I’m not going to be very good company for the next few days. Also…” Sam hesitated, looking away like he was ashamed, “I might not be much help much for the next while. Obviously, I’m no match for Lucifer.”

 

   “Hey,” Gabriel put his hand consolingly on Sam’s shoulder and Sam looked up at him. How could an eons old creature still make puppy eyes? “Look, you did your best. You got yourself stabbed, for fuck’s sake. You’re the emperor of taking one for the team. You did more than we ever should have asked of you.”

 

   “Still, I’m sorry, I know you need all the help you can get.” Sam’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Maybe I can help Joshua with the research. I can definitely tell you more about the horsemen and how to deal with them.”

 

   Gabriel waved him away, even as Cas started nodding. “That doesn’t matter, just focus on getting better. But you can recharge your Grace now, right? You’ll heal eventually?”

 

   Sam nodded. “I estimate that it’ll take another fortnight at least before I can get out of this bed unfortunately, and about six months until I’m back to my normal power levels.”

 

   Gabriel sighed in relief. Sam was going to be fine. If any of them lived that long, anyway.


	19. Blood, Vomit, Death and Brotherly Reunions

   Once Sam was able to sit up, still looking pale and wan and exhausted and still with a giant frigging hole in his side, Gabriel couldn’t keep him away from the lore books. He had objected, but Sam had insisted, saying that he had been tracking the omens for pestilence and ‘give me back that book, Gabriel, I don’t need my Grace to hit you with it!’

 

   And Castiel and Josh, the traitors, had agreed that Sam was onto something; apparently he had been tracking pestilence before he got sledgehammered, and they managed to pick up the trail again quickly. Thanks to Sam, they now at least had the sludgy beginnings of a solid plan. Sam had been astonished and delighted to discover that they already had two of the rings needed to open the cage, from war and famine, so they renewed their search for pestilence and death. Cas was also trying to find where Dean had crash landed when the last of his Grace burnt out, but was having less luck.

 

   “Pestilence will be here by next week,” Sam pointed gingerly to a small town on the map ahead of the line of pins, set up on a table so that Sam could reach it with his gargantuan arms from the bed. “He’ll target the hospital, the care homes. All you’ve got to do is wait for him to show.”

 

   In the end they didn’t even have to wait for him to do that. Pestilence was obvious, what with the droves of ill people in the local old folk’s home. They got there in just a few hours to scope it out, parking some distance away so that they could watch.

 

   “Thirteen people dead there this week. That’s a bit too unusual, even for a building full of crunchies.”

 

   Cas shot Gabriel a disapproving look as he passed him the binoculars.

 

   “So, how do we figure out who it is? That building’s packed with humans and demons. I’d hate to cut some old dear’s finger off by accident then have to explain that we did it ‘cos we thought her wedding ring was one of the keys to the apocalypse.”

 

   Cas came up with the idea of taking out the surveillance first. They slipped in through the front door along with the other visitors, then darted down a side corridor. They were lucky, and Cas nodded towards the sign on one of the doors proclaiming ‘CCTV- private’.

 

   Gabriel sauntered into the small room, glancing briefly up at the screens flickering on the walls.

 

   “What are you doing in here? If you’re trying to find someone, just ask the nurses.” The security guard told him, startled and trying to hide the large box of doughnuts.

 

   “Hi, I’m here to see my grandmother? She’s yea tall, smells a bit like prunes.” While the man’s face was still scrunched in confusion, Gabriel swung his fist into a neat punch, knocking the guard out cold.

 

   He gestured Cas inside, then looked up at the screens, nicking a doughnut from the tray.

 

   “So, any idea what we’re looking for here?” He asked Cas around a mouthful of dough and jam.

 

   “Well, he’s pestilence, so he probably looks sick.”

 

   Gabriel snorted, brushing the powdered sugar off his thumb. “This is a retirement home. Everyone looks sick.”

 

   “No, look, there.” Cas pointed towards where one of the doctors was walking out of a room, his face obscured by a supernatural blur of static.

 

   “Bingo.”

 

.o0o.

 

   They trotted up the stairs towards the room that they had seen pestilence go into. Gabriel skirted a few bodies on the floor, either dead or passed out, covered in blood and vomit.

 

   “Oh, that is not good. That is across the ocean from good.”

 

   They had only walked for a few steps before they felt it too. Gabriel’s chest suddenly convulsed with a deep, hacking cough, Cas not faring any better beside him. They tried to keep going, but the closer they got to the room, the worse the symptoms became. The corridor started to swim with fever, and his skin prickled like it was slowly being peeled from the underlying flesh.

 

   Nausea rose and Gabriel gagged violently, falling against the wall to stay upright. They kept inching their way forwards, using the walls for support. Suddenly, Cas collapsed with a groan, but Gabriel had to keep going, had to find pestilence.

 

   That was the door, there! He staggered over to it, and it swung open to admit him. He had just enough time to see Pestilence grinning cheerfully from the bed and saying “Well, don’t just stand there in the doorway! Come on in!”

 

   Then the darkness swirled up from the corners of his eyes and he was unconscious.

 

.o0o.

 

   “How are we feeling, boys? What’s the pain, on a scale of one to ten?”

 

   Gabriel groaned against the cool of the tiles under his cheek. Pestilence pulled him up painfully by the hair, and he saw Cas lying prone a next to him. Pestilence’s grinning face swam into view.

 

   “I hope you like the scarlet fever. Or the syphilis. Because let me tell you, it’s only going to get worse from here on out. We were told not to kill the vessels, but if Lucifer wants you two that badly then he can glue you back together himself. A little payback for my brothers.” He dropped Gabriel back to the floor with a thunk. Gabriel didn’t have the energy to even make a rude gesture. The handprint on the centre of his chest seemed to throb, and anxiety edged into the back of his mind. Now Sam was worried, but couldn’t help them. Awesome.

 

   “Now then, what about plague? Not very original, but the oldies are the goodies. So-”

 

   Pestilence suddenly looked up from his little victory speech as the door opened. Gabriel stared in surprise at Dean stood in the frame, a little rumpled but still upright. Beside him, Cas gurgled something incomprehensible.

 

   “Well, this is unexpected! How does a little guardian angel get around without his wings?”

 

   “I took the bus,” Dean growled, stepping purposefully into the room.

 

   Pestilence raised his hand and twisted the ring, and Dean pitched forwards, surprise evident on his face. He hacked, coughing up blood onto the floor, and pestilence cackled, leaning down into his space and observing him with his head cocked.

 

   “I think you’re out of juice, buddy! That’s fascinating. There’s not a speck of angel left in you, is there?”

 

   Dean surged suddenly upwards, pinning pestilence’s hand against the table and bringing his blade down on the fingers. Pestilence screamed, high and piercing. Dean grinned savagely, teeth stained pink with his own blood.

 

   “Maybe just a speck.”

 

   Pestilence vanished with an expression of loathing and a loud _snap_ , and the symptoms slowly begin to fade. Gabriel pulled himself up and staggered over to the table as Cas started to make his way slowly to Dean, clinging to the front of his jacket to drag himself upright.

 

   “You did it! You’re here! You made it, I was worried.”

 

   “Yup, I’m here alright. Slow down there, Cas, before you hurt yourself.”

 

   With a terribly soft, fond expression Dean deposited him gently into a chair as Gabriel pointedly ignored them and wrestled the ring off the remains of the finger, holding it up to the light. Three down, one to go.

 

.o0o.

 

   Without his powers, Dean had to drive with them back to Josh’s house. He spent most of the ride moaning about how his car back in the 70’s had been better, and was only slightly mollified when Cas offered him shotgun, much to Gabriel’s disgust at being relegated to the back seat. He spent ten minutes waxing lyrical about how much better pie tasted now before his face became serious again.

 

   “So. What are we doing about our devil situation? Tell me what I missed while I was trapped on the other side of the country without any juice.”

 

   Dean grimaced, and Cas glanced at him, concerned. The loss of Dean’s Grace was obviously bothering him a lot more then he was letting on, but Gabriel was willing to let him keep his self-delusions.

 

   He leant over the back of the seat and fixed Dean with a steely glare.

 

   “You tell no one about this, right? Only me and Cas know for now, and I’ll tell everyone else when I’m good and ready, or I’ll spear you with a crowbar and make it look like an accident.” Cas shot him a poisonous look, probably for threatening his boyfriend.

 

   Dean rolled his eyes. “Jesus, yes, fine.”

 

   So Gabriel outlined plan D for dumbass, leaning over the back of the seats so that he could properly join in with the conversation. Sam had given them a way to open the cage, but as for getting the devil back in there? They had to do that themselves. Or more accurately, Gabriel had to.

 

   He knew it was insane. It was. But he wasn’t seeing any other options; they were still looking, but everything was coming up blank. The idea had been eating at the back of his mind ever since he had watched Sam’s video while he thought that he was dying, and it had eaten at him until he had told Cas. Who, predictably, had been spitting mad. He still pursed his lips as he listened for the second time, eyes on the road but brow furrowed under the weight of his disapproval.

 

   Sam didn’t know about the plan, partly because Gabriel thought that he’d have the most objections, and Gabriel was secretly hoping that if Sam kept his word and stayed out of his mind he wouldn’t find out. No need for that.

 

   “So go on, then. Tell me it’s the worst idea you’ve ever heard.”

 

   To Gabriel’s surprise, Dean shrugged. “Not really. I mean, it’s pretty suicidal, but you two have a habit of blowing my predictions out the water. You letting yourself be possessed then throwing yourself into the pit isn’t actually the worst idea I’ve heard this week, and I can’t think of any other way you’re going to manage it.” He turned and looked at Gabriel seriously, eyes still an unearthly green even without the power of heaven behind them. “You should know though, if you do it and fail, there’s gonna be half a planet of collateral. And then there’s the demon blood.”

 

   Gabriel leaned back. “What about demon blood?”

 

   “You’re gonna have to drink it. A lot of it. It’s to stop the vessel from exploding.”

 

   Gabriel grimaced in disgust. “What about the guy he’s in now? Shouldn’t he have gone splat?”

 

   Dean looked out at the scenery darkly and shook his head. “He must be drinking gallons.”

 

   There was a grim silence after that as they contemplated the many horrible points about the whole situation. Thankfully, Dean didn’t let them brood too long.

 

  “Shotgun picks the music, back seat shuts his cakehole,” He grinned into the back and Gabriel groaned as classic rock boomed from the speakers. Dean howled along to the music for the next few miles, then started to relax, fingers tapping to the beat against his leg.

 

   Eventually, Gabriel noticed that Dean had been quiet for a while, and glanced around the seat. Dean was slumped against the window, mouth open, breath fogging the glass. Gabriel was about to stick a finger in his ear to wake him up, then caught sight of Cas’ soft smile as he glanced at Dean, and decided against it. He didn’t see Cas smile enough anymore.

 

   Dean woke up when they got back to Josh’s, and Gabriel laughed at the confusion on his face when he woke up for what was probably the first time in his long life. Cas started glowering at him so he left them to their oppressive UST and walked into the house.

 

   “Josh! We’re back! Where are you?”

 

   Josh appeared, his sour face emerging from behind an enormous stack of books.

 

   “About time you two got back. Where the hell have you been?”

 

   “Woah. Who pissed in your cornflakes? We’re fine, by the way, thanks for asking. Got the ring and everything, and we managed to pick up a not-so-angelic-any-more passenger into the bargain.” He chucked the ring onto the desk with a metallic clatter. “Don’t say we never bring you any presents.”

 

   Joshua sighed and rubbed his face, slumping into a chair. “Sorry. It’s been a long week.”

 

   Gabriel snorted, dropping onto the couch, which yielded to him with a wheeze.

 

   “Tell me about it. How’s Sam? Is he still asleep?”

 

   “Wait, Sam?” Dean’s voice echoed from the door behind him, wide awake now. “Sam, as in Samael? The one who locked us in TV land for a week? You managed to get him on board?”

 

   “Yeah, that Sam,” Gabriel said suspiciously. What if Dean still held it against Sam for his punishment? Sam had said that they had been close, but he’d seemed unsure whether Dean would want to see him or not. “You two knew each other, right?”

 

   “Yeah, you could say that.” his eyes were flicking around, like he expected Sam to be hiding behind one of the bookcases. “Where is he?”

 

   “Well, he’s been in the panic room since Lucifer got him-”

 

   “What?!” Dean shouted “What do you mean Lucifer got him?” He started striding off towards the staircase. Gabriel quickly stepped in front of him, and he could have sworn that Dean’s eyes flashed with Grace, his expression thunderous. “Let me see my brother! How bad is it? Was he hurt?”

 

   “Woah, easy hot shot. Yeah, he got hurt, bad, but he’s on the mend. He’s probably asleep still, the healing’s taking a lot out of him, and he needs his rest. I‘m gonna check on him, you help Cas get the stuff out the car.”

 

   Dean looked like he was going to object, but Cas whispered a few words into his ear and dragged him out towards the continental.

 

   Josh gave him a long look, then turned back to his books with a ‘humph’. “Go check on your angel then.”

 

   Gabriel flipped him off as he walked towards the stairs.

 

.o0o.

 

   It turned out that Sam wasn’t asleep, but only just. He was sat up, propped against the wall, a heavy book in his lap, and he looked as though he was about to nod off onto it. Nonetheless, when he looked up to see who was coming in, his eyes brightened and he perked up. Gabriel felt himself smile.

 

   “Gabriel! You’re alright! I was worried.”

 

   “What? About little old me? Nah, it wasn’t too much of a challenge. Famine was a wuss, Dean got him even with his Grace missing.”

 

   Sam suddenly sat up, even more alert. “Wait, Dean? Dean’s here?”

 

   “Yeah. Why? Shouldn’t he be?”

 

   “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just… it’s been a while, that’s all. We were close.”

 

   “Well, he sounded plenty enthusiastic about seeing you. Why the hell are you sitting up? Lie down, you’ve got a collapsed lung for fuck’s sake.”

 

   Sam tolerated Gabriel fussing over him with an amused look on his face, but up close Gabriel could see the deep bags under his eyes and hear the way his shallow breaths still bubbled deep in his chest.

 

   “How are you doing?” he asked seriously.

 

   Sam sighed. “Not as well as I’d hoped. I’m healing too slowly. It’s frustrating that I can’t help more.”

 

   Gabriel put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “It’s fine, Sam, honestly. I’m just glad you’re alive.”

 

   “Sammy?”

 

   Dean was standing in the doorway, a poleaxed expression on his face. Sam smiled wanly back at him. “Hey, Dean.”

 

    Gabriel glanced between them. “I’ll leave you guys to it.”

 

   Sam nodded and Gabriel walked swiftly out, not particularly wanting to be caught in the middle of an angelic staring match. Still, at the foot of the stairs, he paused. Better make sure that Dean didn’t hold TV land against him. It wouldn’t do to lose either of their angels to a sibling argument. So Gabriel slunk into the shadows at the bottom of the stairs and listened.

 

   “Fuck, Sammy,” Dean’s voice, even hushed, echoed out of the circular room. “What the hell did he do to you? Your vessel is totalled, man. And your Grace…”

 

   “Yeah, well, you’re not exactly hot on the Grace at the minute, either. What happened with you?”

 

   Dean grunted. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

 

   “You fell for them, didn’t you? You fell for Cas?”

 

   Dean’s silence seemed to answer for him. They were both quiet for a minute.

 

   “The Righteous Man, Dean? Really?” Sam’s voice was even more hushed, but carried to where he was sitting quietly.

 

   “That’s seriously what you’re gonna go for? When you’re practically dating the abomination? I can see that big ol’ claim you stamped onto his chest, even running on Grace fumes. Check your glass house before you start throwing rocks, Sammy.”

 

   “Don’t call him that,” Sam snapped. “And anyway, it’s not like that.”

 

   “Yeah, whatever.”

 

   There was a muffled thump and then a chuckle, as though someone had just been punched on the arm. Gabriel frowned.

 

   “Anyway, what the hell was about that thing in TV land?”

 

   Sam groaned, sounding embarrassed. “Yeah, I know. It was a terrible idea. But Zachariah had nearly found them, Dean! He was right on their tail! I had to keep them occupied _somehow_ while I threw him off.”

 

   Gabriel sat up straighter, surprised. Sam had been trying to save them from Zachariah? Had that been what that rumbling noise was, when he had left them abruptly in Dr Sexy?

 

   “But you spent that entire time telling them both to play their roles! Not to mention dumping me in with the teletubbies. Mixed messages much?”

 

   Sam sounded embarrassed again. “Yeah, I know, alright? I haven’t exactly been… thinking clearly recently. Everything got mixed up, I didn’t know if I was coming or going, whose side I was on, whether I was going to try and kill Lucifer…”

 

   “Look, Sam, I get it, okay? You loved him, he was your brother. Not as awesome a brother as me, but that’s hard to beat.” Sam gave a reluctant chuckle. “But he’s not him anymore, okay? He’s not the brother you knew. You have to let him go.”

 

   “Trust me, Dean, I know that now.”

 

   “He shouldn’t have had to beat you up for you to realise.”

 

   There was silence for a moment, then Sam chuckled quietly again. “Look at us; both out of heaven and out of Grace, trying to stop the apocalypse.”

 

   “Well, it’s good to see you again, anyway. I missed you, little brother.”

 

   “I missed you too. When you weren’t being a jerk.”

 

   “Bitch.”

 

   Gabriel escaped back up the stairs silently, grinning to himself.

 

.o0o.

 

   They barely had time to rest before Gabriel was off to Chicago, alone this time on the trail of Death himself. Sam had fallen asleep again, his quiet wheezing snores rippling out of the panic room, and the expression of worry on Dean’s face when he saw his brother sleeping was enough for Cas to try and distract him by staring at him from uncomfortably close again and trying to engage him in following Sam’s lead on Death.

 

   They had actually pinpointed the spot where he would be. A pizza joint seemed the most unlikely location on earth that the grim reaper would want to hang out, but there you go. Unfortunately, after that a call had come in from Balthazar about an enormous batch of croatoan virus being shipped out in vaccines and they needed manpower to deal with that, so Dean, Joshua and Cas were roped in to help. Gabriel had been a little worried about leaving Sam bed-bound all on his own, but Sam had reassured them that he could look after himself, and told him privately that he would feel it in his soul if Sam was in trouble. After the way that his chest had ached when Sam had been dying, he didn’t doubt it.

 

   So it looked like Gabriel was going in to tackle Death himself alone. No pressure.

 

   Gabriel walked into the pizza joint quietly, easing the door closed behind him. It was immediately obvious that he had the right place. The place should have been bustling but it was quiet, the silence of a tomb, like a hoar of frost spreading over his soul. Gabriel slowly catalogued the bodies, fallen where they stood like they had just stopped like clockwork toys, eyes still open.

 

   There was a man sitting in a chair by the window, the only movement among the dead. He had his back to Gabriel but he looked tall even when sitting, narrow-shouldered and rake thin, his hair dark and swept back from his face. His hands, where they rested on the table in front of him, were bone-white and knobbled like the branches of long dead trees, bleached by years of the elements. Thunder boomed outside, herald to the oncoming storm.

 

   Gabriel gripped his blade tighter and took one silent step closer.

 

   “Hello, Gabriel. Do join me. The pizza’s delicious.”

 

   Gabriel froze at the chill sound of Death’s voice, panic blossoming inside him. What should he do? Run? No, he’d come too far for that, and Death would catch him before he reached the door. Powerless to do anything else, he walked stiffly to where Death was and sat opposite him, heart in his throat.

 

   Death didn’t look like anything he had imagined. But then again, what had he expected? A skeleton with a scythe? No, that was for children’s stories and fiction. This was the real deal. Like all the horsemen, he looked a lot like a normal person from a distance. Until you got up close enough to see the blackness in his pupils, the dark that ate and ate, to feel the aura that sucked the air from the room, and then there was no mistaking him for what he was.

 

   But Death kept his eyes on his pizza as he talked.

 

   “It took you long enough to find me. I have wanted to talk to you for some time.”

 

   “So, this is the part where you kill me, right?”

 

   For the first time, Death raised his head and looked him in the eyes. Lightning flashed outside, making his emaciated cheekbones stand out like knives. Gabriel felt a shudder run through him. Thunder clapped in grim applause.

 

   “No. You’re not nearly significant enough for that yet. Imagine if a bacteria sat down at your table and started to get snarky. I’m old, Gabriel. As old as God. Maybe older, neither of us really remember any more. Regardless, when the End comes, I will reap him too.”

 

   Death looked at him with those cold, eternal eyes again and Gabriel started to realise how fucked he really was. “Well. This is a bit above my pay grade, isn’t it?”

 

   “Just a bit,” Death agreed, taking another bite of pizza.

 

   “So why am I still breathing? What do you want from an amoeba like me?”

 

   “I want Lucifer’s leash gone,” Death’s nostrils flared and Gabriel caught a glimpse of his anger, towering and terrifying, before it was neatly tucked away again. “He bound me. Some petty, cowardly spell. He made me into a weapon. I’m more powerful than he can ever comprehend, and I have been enslaved to a bratty toddler having a tantrum, who wants me to perform his party tricks. So I’ll help you, as long as you’re helping me.”

 

   He held up his hand, ring prominent and stark against his fingers. “I understand you want this. I’m inclined to give it to you.”

 

   “Give it to me?” It couldn’t be this easy. It was never this easy. “Wait, what about Chicago?”

 

   Death shrugged nonchalantly. “I suppose it can stay. I like the pizza.”

 

   He pulled the ring from his finger and held it out. “There are conditions. You are the only one who can put Lucifer back into his cage. You must do it. Your plan is the only way. I know. Do I have your word?”

 

   Gabriel nodded, then reached out to take the ring, careful not to touch Death’s pale skin. “You have my word.”

 

   Death’s eyes glinted with what might have been a speck of admiration. “You are a rather courageous bacterium. I wish you luck. You’re going to need it.”


	20. The Final Bow

   The drive to Detroit was mostly silent, everybody quiet and solemn. Cas’ jaw clenched every now and then, the only visible disagreement he gave about trying out plan z, but he knew that they were out of choices. They all did.

 

   Dean sat in the back, for once not complaining as he watched the scenery. His agreement with the plan had been a surprise, but Gabriel knew that Dean was practical. And they were fresh out of options.

 

   Sam wasn’t there. Sam didn’t even know where they were going. Gabriel had asked the others not to tell him and hadn’t quite been able to do it himself. How did you say ‘hey, you know we’ve been fighting the devil? You know how you nearly died to let us escape? Well, either I’m gonna let myself be possessed, throw myself into the pit and save us all, or I’m gonna get fed to the meat grinder and the world will end, but who’s counting, right?’

 

   Either way, Gabriel wasn’t going to come out on top, and he was afraid that Sam might do something stupid like try and save him and get himself killed in the process, because he was still about as strong as a newborn baby.

 

   Gabriel quietly admitted to himself that it might also have had something to do with not wanting to see Sam’s expression when he told him that he was essentially going to commit suicide, but that was neither here nor there. This was the only option, and they were out of time. He expected that Sam would know soon enough anyway, with the way they were bound. He could only hope that Lucifer wouldn’t be able to tell.

 

   They pulled up around the back of the derelict building where they were planning to summon Lucifer. Cas and Gabriel stared at the bottles of demon blood filling the boot, mouths pressed into grim lines.

 

   “I hate this,” Cas said gruffly, “You know I do. But I have to let you make your own choices, and… this looks like the only option we have.” He turned to look at him. “If anyone can do it, Gabriel, you can.”

 

   “Thanks, bro.” Gabriel swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump stuck in his throat, trying to keep down the bile and the terror that was starting to well up at the thought of what he was about to do. He had to stay strong. Just a little longer.

 

   “Promise me you’ll get out, yeah? No crazy revenge missions or anything. Get yourself a girlfriend,” He glanced over at Dean, “or a boyfriend. Keep Deano company, he needs someone to snark at when I’m not around. And… look after Sam for me, would you? Tell him I’m sorry. And to lay off the salads and eat some sweets for once, having fun won’t kill him.”

 

   Cas nodded solemnly and Gabriel knew that his entire message was going to be relayed in Cas’ most serious narrator voice, even the bit about the sweets. Of course he would have liked to say some other things to Sam as well, but using his brother as a mouthpiece for that sort of message just felt wrong. And it wouldn’t do any good now anyway, it would just be more painful. It was better for everyone if he kept his feelings to himself.

 

   The others joined them by the boot, Joshua nodded at him and Dean clapped him on the shoulder. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

 

   Gabriel nodded back. “Could I get a little privacy? I don’t really want you guys to watch… this.” He gestured to the blood and the others agreed, retreating.

 

   Gabriel tried to imagine he was anywhere else while he chugged down the viscous liquid; back at Josh’s house chatting with Sam over lore books, under the stars with Charlie, arguing with Cas and Dean over their opinions on classic rock. Sam’s weak presence in the back of his mind slipped even further away, and he tried to pretend to himself that he wasn’t bothered by its loss. By the time he had finished, the rush of dark energy was making it easier to slap on that mask of bravado.

 

   He strolled out to the others.

 

   “Come on then, I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

 

.o0o.

 

   It was one thing saying that you were going to take on the devil, but it was another thing entirely to actually do it.

 

   Lucifer was in front of him again, that cold gaze fixed on Gabriel like a heat seeking missile, and all he could remember was what Sam had looked like as they had left him to this thing’s mercy at the hotel. But he couldn’t think of Sam now. He had to concentrate.

 

   “Sorry if it’s a bit chilly in here. Most people think I burn hot, but actually it’s the opposite.”

 

   Lucifer was right; it was freezing in the bare little room. Frost coated the insides of the windows in crackled sheets, and the air was as sharp as knives, each breath stabbing into their lungs.

 

   Lucifer cocked his head, the ugly sores on his face casting shadows across his cheeks in the meagre light from the window, pockmarked like the surface of the moon. His vessel was much worse now than it had been a week and a half ago when he had taken Sam on at Elysian Fields; the skin was peeling from his forehead, pallid and dead.

 

   “Help me understand something, boys. Isn’t it a little bit stupid, even for you, to walk right in through the front door? You’re practically gift wrapping yourselves.”

 

   Gabriel stepped forwards, jaw clenched. “I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to say yes.”

 

   The pale eyes widened, and Gabriel realised that for the first time he had managed to surprise the devil.

 

   “You’re serious.”

 

   “Look, we get it now. This whole apocalypse is a runaway train, and we want off. One condition; when this is over, I live, Cas lives, you bring back our friends and parents and-”

 

   Lucifer interrupted. “Gabriel, you can drop the tricks. I know you have the rings.”

 

   Busted. Oh shit, they were so screwed. Gabriel felt Cas go rigid against his back and heard his sharp intake of breath.

 

   “What rings? You’re talking shit, Luci.”

 

   “Oh, come on, Gabriel! I’ve never lied to you, at least extend me the same courtesy.” He was playing with them now, a cat with a pair of mice. “It’s okay. I’m not mad. A wrestling match in your head? That sounds like fun. Just you and me, one round, no tricks. You win, you jump in the hole. I win,” He made a rumbling sound in his throat and an explosion gesture, grinning at him smugly. “Come on. I know where your heart truly lies.”

 

   Gabriel turned to Cas. “So he knows, it doesn’t change anything.”

 

   Cas looked at him, eyes wide. “Gabe, no!”

 

   Gabriel quickly turned back to Lucifer. “Yes.”

 

   There was light all around him, blinding him, forcing itself into him, cold in his lungs and seizing around his heart. He realised in an instant how stupid he had been, how naïve he was to think that he could fight this thing off. Lucifer burnt him as he tried to wrestle against it, caustic against the vulnerable edges of his soul and horrifyingly alien, and no amount of denial and adrenaline could save him now. He was too weak. He had always been too weak. He was never going to see anyone he loved again. He had killed them all.

 

   Lucifer laughed, shrill and piercing, as they forced Gabriel further down into the screaming darkness.

 

.o0o.

 

   There wasn’t much to see as the devil’s vessel. Occasional glimpses, snatches of places and people. Sometimes he fought, clawed his way to the surface to gasp for air when he had the strength or when Lucifer was suitably distracted. But often, if he was looking at demons through angelic vision or rooms of slaughtered humans, he cringed and let himself be shoved back down underwater. Lucifer laughed at him those times. _Weeeeak_ , their cold Grace sang in a singsong voice, _weak and worthless_.

 

   It wasn’t like the presence of Sam’s Grace inside him, or even when Dean healed them using his. Their Graces were warm, almost to the point of scalding in Dean’s case, and Sam had seemed almost to weld to his soul until they became one creature.

 

   Lucifer was nothing like that. They made a point of keeping themselves separate from Gabriel, like they thought that humanity might be infectious. Gabriel was glad of it, because at least this way he could keep his own thoughts separate. Lucifer might be walking his body around like a shop mannequin, but at least he had his own mind. What’s more, Lucifer never seemed to sense the connection to Sam, for which he was grateful. Often, the bond was the only thing that kept him conscious, a point of warmth in the freezing darkness.

 

   That didn’t stop Lucifer’s emotions washing over him. They weren’t really trying to hide them from him, so when Gabriel felt the first surge of surprise that he had ever felt from the angel, he slipped up to the surface and took a peek through his eyes.

 

   He knew immediately where he was. It was the graveyard, the place he had seen in snatches of Lucifer’s thoughts. The location of the final battle. Stull cemetery.

 

   With an archangel behind his lenses, his vision was distorted into unfamiliar hues and too-sharp edges. Shadows flitted across the landscape, things that had one been there or were still to come. Michael was in his peripheral vision, great wings erupting from his vessel to spread dramatically behind him in surprise as he looked in the same direction Lucifer was. And there, in the foreground, was the continental pulling up among the weeds and grass of the old graveyard.

 

   Cas opened the door and stepped out, alone.

 

   “I hope I’m not interrupting something,” He said, deadpan sarcastic, and internally Gabriel groaned. _No, Cas, no, don’t do it_ …

 

   Michael stepped forwards threateningly. “What are you doing here, you little maggot? You are no longer the chosen vessel, you are not a part of this story-”

 

   “ _Hey_! Fugly!” came a shout from behind them, and the angels turned but too late. Dean threw the bottle, and Michael screamed as it shattered, spilling over him, the flames licking at him hungrily. He writhed for a few seconds, screaming and batting at the flames, then took off with a clap of thunder, probably to go douse himself in the Pacific Ocean.

 

   Gabriel cheered internally for a second before he felt the great churning rage rising in Lucifer and realised what terrible danger Dean had just placed himself in. Then he was yelling silently for him to run.

 

   “Dean. Did you just Molotov my brother with holy fire?” The words were quiet and calm, deadly as a snake poised to strike.

 

   Dean blinked, stepping back, obviously realising just how fucked he was. “Um, no?”

 

   Lucifer was incandescent, rage held back only by the thinnest chain. “No one beats up my brother except me.” They raised his fingers and snapped.

 

   If Gabriel had had control over his own mouth, he would have screamed in horror. The explosion of gore as Dean’s vessel exploded into scraps of flesh would have been bad enough, but with Lucifer’s Grace flowing through his eyes he could only listen and watch in dismay as Dean’s True form shrieked as it was ripped apart, scattering into atoms as the shuddering wings burst into flame and burnt to nothing.

 

   Cas gave a wordless cry and jumped forwards, but Lucifer batted him backwards effortlessly. Cas landed on his ass against a grave, but got back to his feet, circling more slowly this time, limping.

 

   “Gabriel, can you hear me?”

 

   _Yes!_ Gabriel wanted to shout, along with _run, you idiot!_ He struggled against Lucifer’s iron grip, trying to break loose, but Lucifer shoved him viciously back, sending him spinning.

 

   “You know, I’ve been trying to play nice. But you are such…” Gabriel’s hands shot our and seized Cas by the front of the jacket. “A pain in my ass.” Lucifer threw Cas hard against the continental, and Gabriel saw through his eyes as the windscreen shattered into a spider web of cracks.

 

   Lucifer kept coming, swinging Gabriel’s fist around in a punch which landed squarely on Cas’ jaw. His head snapped back, a thin string of blood looping out from his mouth as Gabriel screamed and beat against Lucifer from the inside. The angel bent and warped, but Gabriel couldn’t get a grip on them to pull them backwards. Panic leaked through his connection with Sam, adding to his own.

 

   “Gabriel?” Cas said, his voice thick and clotted with blood. “Gabriel, can you hear me?”

 

   “Yeah, he can hear you,” Lucifer bared Gabriel’s teeth in a smile. “And he’s going to feel every bone in your body snap. He’s going to hear you screaming!” Lucifer threw another punch and Cas landed heavily on the car door.

 

   More blows rained down, Lucifer now pinning Cas to the car with a hand on the collar of his jacket, until Cas’ face was a mess of bruised and swelling flesh. Inside, Gabriel sobbed and thrashed in impotent rage and terror.

 

   Cas squinted up at his brother through one eye, the other swollen shut. “Gabe, it’s okay. It’s okay, I’m here.”

 

   Gabriel’s heart broke as he heard Cas trying to comfort him in his last moments. Lucifer, enraged because they couldn’t understand what Cas was doing here, what he was trying to accomplish, raised their fist for the final blow, curling Gabriel’s lips into a snarl. As his did it, his grace aimed a shove at Gabriel, pushing him down into the dark.

 

   Then, inexplicably (because the sun was behind the clouds), a glint of light attracted Gabriel’s attention. It gleamed off the polished golden surface of the continental and fell through the window to illuminate the interior, highlighting where he and Cas had scratched their initials into the side panel as children. A memory floated to the front of his mind, then another and another, pranking Cas and laughing with Cas and waking up to his beloved surly voice, until there was a flood of recollection roaring through the front of his mind. He wasn’t just in the graveyard, he was leaning against the Continental somewhere in the wilderness, beer in hand, the sun hanging low and yellow, casting the landscape in an oversaturated golden glow and glinting off the car and Cas’ teeth as he laughed with his whole body, face scrunched up and relaxed.

 

   The golden light from the memory seemed to permeate Gabriel’s whole mind, warm and radiant, and Gabriel realised that it wasn’t just his imagination, it was real. There was a light glowing inside him, at the back of his mind.

 

   The bond.

 

   Trying to be careful but hurry at the same time, he gathered it closer, letting the light fill him until he was burning, bright and hot. Distantly, he felt his body stagger backwards, dropping Cas to the ground. Lucifer flinched back, distracted, and then reeled as Gabriel clawed his way into the driver’s seat. Lucifer roared in rage, spitting and hissing, but Gabriel held on grimly as the archangel tried to unseat him without being singed by the golden heat.

 

   He drew in a deep gasp of air, and another, delighting in the feeling of his body once again even as he fought to keep Lucifer down.

 

   “It’s okay, Cas,” he gasped, “I’ve got him.”

 

   Cas’ bruised face blinked at him with dazed confusion as Gabriel fished in his pocket for the rings with trembling fingers. He tossed them onto the grass, quickly chanting the incantation to open the portal. No time, no time… The earth rumbled and shook as it caved in, until all that was left was a great sucking hole going down, down, down.

 

   Gabriel allowed himself one last glance at Cas, one last memory to carry him down into the pit. He could feel the Pull from the darkness, tight around Lucifer’s Grace as he scrabbled at Gabriel’s soul, howling.

 

   “Gabriel!”

 

   Gabriel whirled around. Michael was standing behind him, an expression that was almost fear on his face. “Gabriel, step back! It can’t end this way!” He had to shout, the air snatching his words away as it roared down, as though there was a black hole open at their feet. “I have to fight my brother, here and now! It’s my destiny!”

 

   “Yeah? Well screw destiny!” Gabriel shouted back over the rushing wind. He took one last look at Cas, then spread his arms with a giddy, hysterical laugh, his heart pounding out its terror against his ribs. Lucifer screamed as Gabriel let himself tip backwards into the ravenous hole.

 

   Michael lunged forwards as Gabriel had anticipated he would and grabbed frantically at his arm. Grabbing back, Gabriel pivoted, tossing them both headlong down into the darkness, the angels both screaming in his ears. This was it, he was gone, he was dead, he was-

 

   There was panic and a burst of light at the back of his mind, and a hand grabbed him by the ankle with bruising, supernatural strength. Lucifer roared, scrabbling to stay in his vessel, but this close to the Cage the pull was too strong for him. He ripped away from Gabriel’s soul, shrieking agony and terror-

 

   And then he was gone. Gabriel gasped great lungfulls of air which were quickly snatched away, still suspended over the darkness for a second, terrified that the hand would let go and he would plunge down into the abyss.

 

   Then the hand gave another, inhumanly strong yank and he was dragged back over the lip of the hole. He rolled over the scruffy grass, tumbling over another body, and lay there panting on his stomach with his eyes closed as his body trembled, the sound of rushing air slowing as the door to the Cage closed over again.

 

   Whatever he was lying on, it was warm, and kind of bony, and was rising and falling with the rapid breaths that he could feel puffing against his neck.

 

   “Why- the fuck- did you do that?” Groaned a low voice next to his ear.

 

   With some effort Gabriel raised his head and looked at who he was lying on in disbelief. “Sam?”

 

   Sam groaned again, then coughed. “You’re an asshole. You fucking left me. And you didn’t even say goodbye.”

 

   Gabriel laughed, high and hysterical, because he was alive. How was he still alive? Sam looked up at him and smiled as well, shaking his head with eyes crinkling at the corners, both of them marvelling over the miracle of his continued existence.

 

   Then Sam leant up, and suddenly Sam’s lips were on his, rough, soft pressure and warmth. Gabriel’s eyes opened wide in surprise and Sam quickly retreated, avoiding his gaze and stuttering.

 

   “Sorry… I mean… I just…”

 

   “Shut up,” Gabriel leaned down and pressed himself against Sam in a proper kiss, deep and warm.

 

   “You know, this is really nice,” Sam said quietly when they broke apart, Gabriel gasping a little.

 

   “Mmmmm…” Gabriel hummed, exhausted.

 

   “But could you get off my ribs? They’re kind of still broken.”

 

   “Holy shit!” He had completely forgotten! He quickly scrambled off, wincing as Sam grunted. Wait, he had a nagging feeling that there was something else that he had forgotten about as well, what had he…?

 

   “Cas!”

 

   How could he have forgotten his own brother?

 

   He scrabbled onto his hands and knees, looking around, and there Cas was, looking confused but whole, his face no longer bloody, and standing right beside him… Dean?

 

   Dean saw him wobbling and grinned, smirking. “Oh no, don’t stop. We’re just fine over here, you two get back to it.”

 

   Sam gave an embarrassed groan. Yes, that was definitely Dean, looking very much alive and unexploded. Which was confusing for a number of reasons. “Dean… You were dead. I saw you die.”

 

   “Yeah, well, guess Cas was right all along,” Dean smiled fondly down at him. “Looks like the big man was on our side after all.”

 

   Cas looked awed as Dean offered him a hand to get him to his feet. “God resurrected you?”

 

   “Yeah, and I got a promotion! New wings, baby! I’m back to where I was before I got demoted by Ass-ariah. Fully charged and ready to go. So that means I’ll be able to beat you in sparring again, Sammy,” Dean grinned at his brother.

 

   “Not a chance,” Sam grunted.

 

   “Hey, Deano, care to heal your brother? He’s only got a giant hole in his ribcage.” Gabriel said, gesturing towards Sam.

 

   Dean’s forehead contracted into a frown. “I’m not sure how effective it’ll be, given that was made by an archangel blade. I’ll try, but no promises.”

 

   Sam nodded and Gabriel watched anxiously as Dean stepped forwards and knelt, putting a hand to Sam’s chest. His eyebrows knitted together as he concentrated, the air between the angels glowing brightly before it faded. Dean sat back with a disappointed frown, but Sam smiled up at him, breathing more easily.

 

   “Sorry, I couldn’t heal your Grace, but the vessel’s whole again at least. You’re just gonna have to power up slowly.”

 

   “We’re alive,” Cas said, still looking dazed. Well, he had had his face beaten in two minutes ago, so Gabriel could forgive him for being a little slow on the uptake.

 

   “Yeah, Cassie. Damn, I can’t believe we actually pulled that off!”

 

   Sam got gingerly to his feet and Gabriel wedged himself under his arm to support him. Sam gave him a small grin of thanks.

 

   Dean caught Sam’s expression and grinned at him, waggling his eyebrows. Sam scowled back, but Dean ignored him, slinging an arm around Cas’ shoulder as they all tottered back towards the continental, battered but, miraculously, alive.

 

   “So, after we tell Josh that Lucifer didn’t squash us into jam, are we gonna have a we-saved-the-world celebration or what? ‘Cos I might not need food any more, but I am in the mood for pie.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter, just to wrap things up!


	21. The After-Party

   “Are they always this gross?” Sam asked, nursing his drink as they watched Dean and Cas up at the bar, giggling tipsily, leaning together with their heads nearly touching.

 

   “Oh, yeah. It’s horrible, isn’t it? They’ve been making sweet, sweet love to one another with their eyes since we met in a dirty old barn in the middle of nowhere.” Gabriel sighed in reminiscence and threw back another purple nurple, then leaned closer to Sam. “I’m still not sure if they know where they’re headed or if it’s just happening by accident. Cas was always a bit clueless.”

 

   “Oh, Dean knows where he’s going alright. Trust me, we toured the seventies, and angelic contraception was the only thing between him and about a hundred Nephilim.”

 

   Gabriel snorted. “Good, ‘cos I’ve already had to pull out the big brother card once, and they haven’t even gotten busy yet. I’d hate to think I wasted it. And thank god Cas can’t get pregnant, or that’d be a whole other level of weird shit for me to worry about. One apocalypse at a time.” Sam snickered and took another gulp of his drink.

 

   The bar they were in wasn’t anything special, apart from that it was the one closest to Stull cemetery. After they had all piled into the car and gone for burgers (and pie, because apparently it should have had its own food group), Dean and Cas had made the decision that rather than actually resting like normal people, they were going to find the nearest liquor store to burn off all the post-battle adrenaline the alcoholic way. Gabriel, still a bit shaky, had objected that he wanted to sit down if they were drinking, so they had opted for a bar instead. Sam, with a long suffering expression, had tagged along to ensure nobody got too wasted (Castiel) or drank the entire bar’s supply of alcohol in an attempt to get tipsy (Dean).

 

   Despite how tired they all were, Gabriel had to admit that it was quite nice to sit together with Sam in a cosy alcove, watching their brothers flirting at the bar, not in fear for their lives for once. Plus, Gabriel was in no hurry to get to sleep. He could feel the nightmares at the corners of his eyes, just waiting for the darkness to come sneaking in.

 

   He looked around at the other patrons, laughing and joking with one another. It was early enough in the evening that no one was too deep in their pints, and the place had a friendly atmosphere. These people had no idea how close the world had come to ending just that afternoon. A few hours ago, Gabriel had been possessed by the devil, Sam had been a wreak, Cas had been beaten up and Dean had been dead. But here they were.

 

   “Does all of this seem a little… unreal to you?” He asked Sam, gesturing at the room in general.

 

   Sam obviously got what he meant because he looked around contemplatively.

 

   “Give it time. It’s not like it’s over, anyway. Heaven’s going to be a mess up there, and we’re going to have to deal with that sooner or later. Raphael won’t take a change in authority lying down, but he might not be the right one to fill the power vacuum.”

 

   Gabriel waved a hand dismissively. “That can wait until I’ve slept. I’m not dealing with any more angels for at least a week. We’ve earnt some down time, and anyone who objects can suck it. And then, once we’re all healed up, we can get back on the road again.”

 

   Sam hitched his arm up onto the back of the alcove, looking at him sideways with a hidden smile curling the corners of his mouth. “You keep saying ‘we’. Am I included in the compulsory vacation?”

 

   “Of course you are! You’re not allowed to just go now, not when we’re finally all got our insides on the inside again. There’s always a seat in the car for you, Sam. And the prank wars are gonna be so much better now! By the way, if you’re not on my team, eternal vengeance shall be mine.” Another possibility occurred to him. “Unless you don’t want to come. That’s fine too.”

 

   It wouldn’t be fine, not exactly, but Gabriel was sure he could get over it. Eventually. He glanced down at his fingers tapping on the table and tried not to think about it too much.

 

   Sam looked down at him, the dim light glinting off his smile and the ring of gold at the centre of his irises. “Of course I want to come. Wouldn’t want to miss out on all the fun.”

 

   Gabriel’s head shot up.

 

   “You will?” That wasn’t meant to come out quite so hopeful, but that warmth glowing at the back of his brain where Sam was seemed to have spread to his chest and was doing funny things to his heart.

 

   “Of course!”

 

   For a moment Gabriel just grinned back at Sam, relieved and happy, revelling in how healthy he looked. His eyes were no longer sunken, they were bright, brimming with life. His cheeks weren’t hollow any more, and he somehow looked more solid than he had while lying on the panic room cot. Gabriel let himself imagine sitting in the back seat of the continental with him, sprawled out over each other as the countryside flashed past, singing along to the radio and listening to Dean moan about Cas’ questionable music tastes. It seemed so close, so tangible, that for a second Gabriel wondered if his visions were back again.

 

   Then Sam looked up and frowned, alert in an instant and Gabriel shook off his daydream to glance across the bar and see what he was looking at.

 

   “Where did they go?”

 

   The spot where Cas and Dean had been sitting was empty, empty bottles and shot glasses scattered across the bar. Panic started to coil in Gabriel’s gut, but he quickly clamped down on it. He had to find them. He swept the bar with narrowed eyes, and spotted their familiar silhouettes making a hurried exit through the back door, Dean apparently dragging Cas by the hand.

 

   Gabriel gaped after them for a moment before he snorted with laughter, half amusement and half hysterical relief that they hadn’t been snatched by vampires or whatever just when he was starting to think that everyone was safe. “Well, what do you know? They’re off. Remind me that we’re going to need to book another motel room. On the other side of the building.”

 

   Sam grinned and relaxed back into the booth, slouching against the seat, pressing their shoulders together. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I should probably sleep too, it might make the Grace healing faster.”

 

   “Good point.” Now that Sam mentioned it, Gabriel could see the tired lines around Sam’s eyes still, the way his movements were sluggish and clumsy as he picked up his drink. “Hey, we could go now if you like, now we don’t need to play babysitter any more. You look like you could use the rest.”

 

   “I’m fine,” Sam said, which was completely negated second later with an enormous yawn.

 

   “Right, that’s it.” Gabriel grabbed his sleeve and dragged him out of the booth, throwing down enough cash to cover the tab. Sam got up and let himself be led, an amused expression on his face. “We’re going to go book a room and sleep until your name gets changed to Rip Van Sam.” Sam laughed, deep and joyful, and Gabriel felt his heart swell with it.

 

   “And then what?” Sam asked cheekily as they pushed through the door and out into the crisp night air, the sound of cicadas carrying on the cool evening breeze.

 

   Gabriel winked at him in the mellow glow of the streetlights. “Well, we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

 

   The apocalypse had passed and the world was still spinning. Gabriel wasn’t naïve enough to think that their lives would get any easier now; the rest of the angels were still out there, along with at least one probably enraged archangel, and demons still roamed the earth, not to mention all the other things that went bump in the night.

 

   But he was sure about one thing; whatever happened, they would deal with it together. And that made all the difference in the world.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bad news; this is it. The end. Finito. The final chapter.
> 
> The good news; there will be at least one timestamp for this, and it is porn for those of you who want that. It's also nearly finished, and as someone who mostly fails at writing anything more than kissing, it's going pretty well. I've discovered the trick; porn can only be written at 2am when all inhibitions have been lost due to tiredness. So watch this space!
> 
> Thank you, thank you to all the people who've commented and kudosed this. Your feedback keeps me writing, it really does.  
> Special mention goes to The_Firebird and Funkytown67_RH *finger guns* you guys are awesome!


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